Fallen: A Kei Tsukishima Story
by 27CansOfTuna
Summary: Kei has always felt like an outcast in life. Though he has had it all in terms of academics he has struggled to fit in with the people around him. After enduring a painful middle school experience, he attempts to change for high school. Kickstarting this change is Shouyou Hinata who helps to bring him out of his rut and into experiencing a new life.
1. Chapter 1

So this was written for this years NaNoWriMo, it will be 50K words and continue after that as I was a bit too ambitious. I love Tsukishima, Hinata, Kageyama, and a few more characters, so I hoped to include them in a story. Below is a better summary since it seems FF has a really strict limit. Thanks for reading.

Summary: In middle school, Kei Tsukishima had it all, excellent grades, excellent social skills, and popularity that would make anyone want to be around him. When you wanted something done you went to him. Homework, he could help you easily ace it immediately. Studying, he would make you instantly understand any challenging subject. Feeling down, then talk to Kei and he would say just the right things to make you feel like you're the best. Kei was who everyone dreamed to be.

Now that Kei has enrolled at high school, he has realized that he is missing something vital that everyone around him had. Tired of feeling like an outcast, he has given himself rules to guide his high school life. These rules, he hoped, would enable him to be the person he has always dreamed of being, one with actual friends and a normal social life. Struggling between being his usual self and being the perfect person he managed to be has been hard. Fortunately on the first day of implementing his plan he met Shouyou Hinata, a bright cheerful unique character who brought him bountiful joy. However, this was threatened by seemingly impossible circumstances happening back to back, going against the very laws of nature. Kei and Shouyou, through sheer strength, willpower, and dedication, and friendship battle the odds to right wrongs, stamp out evildoers, and return Karasuno to how it is supposed to be.

Kei Tsukishima, ace student, woke early to prepare for his new journey that was soon to start. This was going to be the first day at his new high school, Karasuno. Though he had no problem with meeting new people or even going to new places, he still felt a bit of anxiety over what unknown events could happen. Karasuno was going to be vastly different from his middle school. He would have to meet new people, try to stay at the top of his game in academics, and be forced to join some new school club. The list of things he added to this list became longer and longer in his mind. Before he knew it, he had a list of fifty things on it. He stopped immediately and move on. He reasoned that the best thing to do would be to tackle these things head on and get right into it. A laid-back easy going attitude wasn't how he became the ace student of middle school after all.

Kei immediately checked his mobile tablet to see if he had any pressing matters to attend to before leaving his house. A notification appeared the second he looked at it.

"Make sure to lock up and have a good day at school Kei!" he read on the screen. As he was about to type a response a second message appeared, "I loved Karasuno, I hope you will too (*≧▽≦). Be sure to make a friend today!" Kei rolled his eyes in response. His brother, Akiteru, loved to include emoticons in his texts. This annoyed Kei to no end. Why couldn't he just used a normal smiley like other people? Though he did assume that was how most normal people texted, he didn't have many friends who texted him. Kei shot back a short and quick response and immediately prepared to leave.

Because he lived within walking distance of Karasuno, he could take his time. Kei's journey took him by a gorgeous waterway. It looked simply stunning in the morning hours. This would be the first time going this this way so he took in the scenery like a newborn seeing its mother for the first time. Birds chirped all around him, the sound of rushing water flowed beside him, and some early morning senior citizens slowed walked by him. A hillside of flowers with enough colors to make a rainbow feel jealous was the icing on the cake for this landscape. He was glad to be alive to see such a sight. He almost wanted to take a photo of it to commemorate it. Photos had become very important to him though he couldn't pinpoint why. Giving in to his inner desire, he snapped a photo of the entire scene. It would be a great addition to his photo book and one he would surely caption "First Day of High School." He chuckled to himself at the idea of a high schooler maintaining a photobook of such a common event, but it was something he enjoyed.

As he passed the waterway and reached the busy market area, he started to see others headed in the same direction. He knew that these were students as they were dressed in the similar black and orange plaid pants or skirts, and the white short-sleeve shirts with a crow on the shirt pocket. A few looked at him, nodded, and continued on their way. Because he was a bit taller than most students in his class, he was used to being starred at. It still made him a bit uncomfortable and sadly it did turn people away from talking to him. Hopefully the students at Karasuno would act differently. At least they nodded at him, so he wasn't being ignored. He hoped that his actual class would be friendly.

Signs pointing to Karasuno High School became more numerous as Kei walked closer. As the crowd grew he assumed hewas right in front of it. In front of him, a tall arched gateway with the words KARASUNO written on it confirmed his assumption, indicating he had arrived. He had been here a few times with Akiteru but this was the first time he entered Karasuno from the front. He kept walking. Before he could enter he noticed a really short orange haired boy gazing in excitement at the big statue of the crow in the courtyard a few feet from the arch. Kei wondered if the boy had never seen a statue of a mascot at a school before but otherwise passed him by. The statue wasn't anything special. In fact, anyone living in the area would have seen it numerous times before. He inwardly chuckled but otherwise kept walking. Perhaps it was a middle schooler who come to the wrong school by mistake?

Though Kei didn't realize it, the orange haired boy at the statue was actually waiting for Kei to come to school. The crow statue was taller than the boy so he was briefly distracted by it. It had been his first time to Karasuno High School so it was strange to see such large attention to detail given to something as ordinary as a crow. As Kei walked by, the boy realized who he was waiting for had arrived. The boy immediately remembered the email he received the previous day.

"Hey, Shouyou,

I know we haven't talked in a few years, but I am hoping that you could do me a favor. Kei will be at Karasuno High School along with you. He has become intensely focused on his studies since abandoning you and everyone else in elementary school. His time in middle school should have been a time for him to find himself, but it seems that was not the case. In fact it seems like he is completely changed. He's still my brother and I love him for who he is but I don't like seeing him like this. He was unable to make any friends or do anything that most normal people his age do. I miss how he used to be. He doesn't even remember the past anymore. Since you will be going to Karasuno, could you help him? Maybe if you spend time with him his memory will return. If not at least keep him some company so he can break out of his shell and live. You're always so happy and could really make Kei feel good.

Thanks,

Akiteru T. （‐＾▽＾‐）

"

Shouyou immediately followed Kei into the school.

Kei found his homeroom easily. The first years were placed on the third floor of the school. They were separated into five homerooms with his, the fifth one, being E. Wondering if this spelled doom for him, (why would I be in the final one, when I should have been one of the first to turn back my acceptance letter, he thought), he immediately tried to find a seat. As an ace student, he thought, he could sit in the first seat of the first row. That would give him the best choice for answering questions and paying attention. Though a part of him cringed at the thought and the memory how being in front often separated him from his classmates and made them feel inferior to them. If he got all the attention in the front then he didn't want the same death stares that haunted him in the past to recur in the present. Looking around he found one in a more ideal spot. The seat by the window in the second row from the back looked perfect. Upon sitting down, he saw the short orange haired boy he passed by at the statue enter the room.

"Hey!" Shouyou said happily upon picking the seat in front of Kei. "I'm Shouyou Hinata, and you are?" he attempted to sound like he didn't know him. It would be bad if Kei found out his brother had sent him an email asking him to watch after Kei. How embarrassing would that be if that happened to me, Shouyou thought.

Kei smiled politely, nodded his head, and responded softly, "I'm Kei. How as the statue"?" Kei attempted to try to have a discussion. It would be bad if he failed on the first day of school to try to make friends. He had trouble being social so short and simple responses could be the secret to trying to start a friendship.

"It was so big, I've never seen anything like it before. The feathers looked so real. The way it was starring if you looked it in the eyes. Well at its eyes, I couldn't see straight into them since they were so high up. But still." Shouyou was clearly still interested in the statue and almost forgot what he was supposed to be doing.

Kei adjusted his glasses as he was shocked by how someone could be so interested in a statue of a crow. Of all the things out there a crow, really? It wasn't like it was a Romanesque statue. He was going to say a witty remark but then he thought that he might offend Shouyou. He simply smiled and nodded. He gave himself a virtual pat on the back for making such a smart decision.

"You're so tall! You probably could have starred into the eyes of the crow. You're eye level with it I think." Shouyou said with a bright smile. Kei tensed up a bit which Shouyou seemed to notice. Not knowing what was wrong he changed the subject, "so I hope this year is a good one, I didn't do too hot in middle school but at least I made it here!" Kei seemed to relax a bit at this. Shouyou wondered if he had some issues with his height or something. Since he wasn't that close to him he thought it wouldn't be good to ask Kei about this. Maybe later if things can work out between them then he could inquire about it.

"I did pretty well in middle school, it was pretty challenging but I passed with flying colors. I think high school won't be that hard if we work hard. By starting out strong on the first day, being focused, paying attention, and studying, I think that doing all of this helps us out. As the saying goes, start strong, and finish stronger," Kei said with a smile while looking at Shouyou's. Shouyou seemed to feel a bit empowered by what Kei had said. Though Shouyou wasn't that good in schoolwork, he felt that with Kei on his side any and all things could be possible. He made a mental note to make sure to study with Kei when exams came up.

Kei panicked a bit when Shouyou didn't immediately respond, did he say something wrong or mean? Kei's smile started to falter a bit. He couldn't stop smiling or his plan would be ruined. If Shouyou found out he couldn't handle a normal conversation then he would have to start all over. He couldn't go home and tell Akiteru that he failed to even hold a conversation with someone or even get a friend. "K-" Shouyou started. "Ding Dong!" the school bell rang interrupting what Shouyou was about to say. This saved Kei from having to maintain his smile but it did little to keep him from inwardly panicking over his situation with Shouyou. Shouyou turned back to his seat wondering why Kei tensed back up and looked a bit worried.

Shouyou continued to worry as the teacher went through the class roster and the syllabus for the semester. When it was time to pull out their notebooks to take notes on solving simple algebra equations for x or y, he immediately tore off a small sheet off his notebook paper and scribbled his number on it. Maybe Kei would text him during class? He passed the paper over his shoulder quickly making sure it landed on Kei's desk. "VRRRM, VRRRM" Shouyou heard a few minutes later. His cellphone had gone off. He opened it.

"Hi Shouyou. Focus on the teacher, you're not good at school remember." Shouyou read. He was about to type another response when another message came

"(｡◝‿◜｡)"."

Shouyou smirked. He didn't think Kei was the type of person to use emoticons, maybe it ran in the Tsukishima household. Though if Kei was using emoticons then maybe he was feeling alright. Perhaps he was worrying over nothing. He sent back a message about eating together for lunch and turned back to the teacher solving an equation on the board.

Kei was glad that Shouyou responded. He inserted an emoticon because he thought it would be the right thing to do. Using emoticons was what people did to be friends right? So maybe that would work. "Thank you Akiteru!" he silently whispered to himself. It didn't seem like Shouyou had any misgivings about him or his earlier statement. He was slightly mad at himself for being unable to stop from saying those types of statements. He always had an issue with saying the right thing at the right time which ended up making him seem like a saint among all men. Though this would make people like him at first it eventually got them to turn away from him. They would want to compare themselves to him. When they realized they couldn't even come close to his level they would keep their distance. Because this happened during his first year in middle school, he was left friendless. He didn't want to repeat the same thing for high school. High school would be different. For now he would look forward to lunch with Shouyou and hope that they could get along better.


	2. Chapter 2

Kei anxiously waited for the teacher to dismiss the class for lunch. Waiting for Shouyou's response had taken a toll on him that he hadn't expected. Who knew being social could make one get so hungry? Though Shouyou offered him the chance to eat lunch together, he didn't feel that relieved. It would be his first time eating lunch with someone at school in an actually friendly manner. During middle school, Kei had no one to eat with. In fact, he often tried to hide behind a tree in the school yard so that he wouldn't have to deal with people looking or staring in awe at him. It was one of the most uncomfortable things about that school. Shouyou seemed like the type who wouldn't stare in awe at him. He also seemed like someone who would make lunch fun instead of a long drag.

Kei started to smile when he thought of how other people his age spent lunch together. One of the animated shows he watched on TV involved school boys gathering on the roof over lunch talking, joking, and jumping on each other as they enjoyed the lighthearted moments of their high school youth. Kei blushed thinking of how close the twins in that show had been even laying on top of each other to relax but also at how they had amassed three other boys to join in their fun and games. He always imagined himself as the one with glasses who seemed to be at a distance from everyone but always willing to partake in the fun when they brought him in. The show was a great escape for him and made him silently wish he could experience that when he got to high school. Why couldn't they be real? Tired of being lonely, it was something that he spent quite a bit of time thinking of. The text from Shouyou comforted him slightly. It could be a sign of things to come. Thinking more on it, he went over the way he should act in order to not turn Shouyou away.

Shouyou hopped out of his chair the second the teacher waved her hand to dismiss class for lunch. "Kei I'm so hungry right now. Hurry and let's go!"

Kei visibly perked up. Seeing a very happy Shouyou get up with such speed put him into a similar mood. He was surprised with how fast he was able to get up as well. He didn't want Shouyou to hear his tummy rumble. "Aye, where is the cafeteria, I didn't have time to look around school before class this morning he," Kei said as he looked in Shouyou's direction.

"One the first floor, it's by the stairs we used to come up here I think. Or at least, that was the only thing I think that huge room with all the tables could be used for. They wouldn't put a gym there," Shouyou answered as they made their way out of the room. Some of their classmates glanced at Shouyou and Kei as they walked by. Shouyou noticed them looking at him and started to move a bit faster to get to the stairs. "I wonder why they were looking at us."

"Usually people look at me because I'm so tall," Kei said barely noticeable to anyone but him.

"What was that?" Shouyou asked. He couldn't hear Kei above the sound of their feet on the stairs. After a moment of silence Shouyou turned and looked and noticed that Kei had tensed up again. "Was height a taboo topic?" Shouyou thought. "I think it's because of my hair," he continued, "I really like how orange I can make it even though it is already naturally close to the color but a bit more color really makes it stand out. I love it," he said matter-of-factly. This seemed to work as Kei's steps became livelier and life flowed through him as they made their way down another flight of stairs. Shouyou was glad to see Kei like this and hoped he could keep it up. He was starting to see how why Kei may have had a tough time in middle school.

Kei cursed himself for tensing up over such an issue. He wondered why he kept failing to remember some of the rules he made for himself earlier in the morning. What if Shouyou thought he was weird for not answering? Or worst what if he didn't want to have lunch with him anymore after today? He didn't want to go home a winner today but find out he actually lost tomorrow. Next time though, next time he won't tense up over such a question.

As they reached yet another flight of stairs Kei remarked, "Your hair color is really nice. I love looking at it, it makes me happy." Shouyou added a bounce to his step upon hearing this and chuckled a bit. Kei, thinking this was a good thing added, "It must bring lots of joy to everyone who sees it. That's probably why they looked in class. I would guess they are all smiling at the thought of you." "Bingo!" Kei said to himself. Shouyou rubbed his hair and nose trying to hide a smile. Hearing Kei compliment him made him feel really warm all of a sudden. This was weird as he had heard things like this before from classmates in middle school but the way they said it was more in a nice "that's a cute baby" kind of way. The way people smile when they see a baby and wouldn't tell the parent if it's truly cute or not. There are just some things you should never say, you know? Shouyou could tell that Kei genuinely meant what he said.

Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, they now faced the Karasuno cafeteria. The smell of freshly made pizza with a hint of garden salad and Texas Toast garlic croutons filled the air. In turn, they both started salivating as they walked in. They were fortunately early enough to get their pizza without much of a wait in a line. Because Karasuno was located in such a gorgeous location, right in a meadow on a quaint hillside, they decided to eat in the courtyard behind the cafeteria. There they found many sturdy lush apple trees. Numerous squirrels and birds were gathered outside darting around or eating some dropped food from other students. The sun shone brightly enhancing the scene which blended modern brick architecture with the love for urban nature. Where they decided to sit was shielded from the sun. The tree they chose to sit under had sunshine filtering through the leaves and branches. A few ripening apples were on the ground around them. While Shouyou moved them out the way to clear a place for them to sit, Kei thought to capture the moment on film. Unfortunately he didn't have his camera with him so instead opting to try to use his mobile phone camera.

Shouyou noticed Kei angling the phone to take a photo. Shouyou jumped up quickly to try to get into the photo. Kei chuckled when he looked at the photo and saw a bright eyed cheery faced boy with bright orange hair at the edge of the photo. "Lemme see, lemme see," Shouyou said, clearly excited at having made Kei laugh.

"Look at you," Kei responded. He was starting to feel a bit more comfortable with Shouyou around, meanwhile Shouyou grabbed the phone. Their hands touched momentarily. Shouyou noticed in the back of his head but seemed to see that Kei didn't tense up. It didn't seem like it took that long for Kei to warm up to people he just met, Shouyou thought. "Karasuno looks so good" Shouyou commented.

"So do you," Kei responded, but then immediately wished he could take that back. He hoped he didn't sound like a total weirdo. And worst yet he already made a mistake on his oath to himself at trying to not say these types of things. What if Shouyou thought he was already trying to make a move on him? Kei wanted to scream.

Shouyou handed the phone back to Kei with a clear blush on his face. He sat down quickly and started eating his lunch. "This pizza is so good, I could eat this every day," Shouyou said quickly in an attempt to hopefully keep Kei from tensing up again. He fully expected it since Kei had grown oddly quiet in that brief moment. Was he embarrassed by what he said? Kei sat quickly and started eating too. When he noticed the blush vanish from Shouyou's face he started to feel a bit relieved. Maybe Shouyou hadn't heard what he said he thought. That would be very relieving he thought.

Lunch proceeded with them just chatting about the latest things they went over in class to eventually what their hobbies were. Shouyou appeared to be pretty interested in school sports and went to describe how he was drawn to Karasuno for their great volleyball team. He described how he was always in love with the sport in elementary school but came to learn how to play it later than most of the other people he knew. Later in middle school he managed to create a school team for it but was the only dedicated player. He wanted to change things in high school. If he could get onto Karasuno's team then maybe, just maybe, he could finally reach his dreams of being a great volleyball player.

Kei was impressed at Shouyou's story and how excited he was about volleyball. Kei told Shouyou how he knew of volleyball from his older brother Akiteru. When Kei mentioned Akiteru, Shouyou attempted to act like he didn't now Kei had a brother. He didn't want to ruin this new companionship he had going on with Kei over something like that. Kei continued and said that he would be interested in playing volleyball sometime. Seeing the guys playing when he viewed Akiteru was so intriguing. People jumping high, blocking such fast moving balls, diving to try to keep the ball in the air was something that he kept his full attention. He wanted to play too. Though he was a bit quiet on that part of the conversation.

"Maybe you can join the volleyball club with me, I think they are going to be meeting next week about joining the club," Shouyou said. Kei perked up a bit. While he caught the part about the meeting, he latched more onto the first part of Shouyou's comment. Was that one of those events he saw in his TV shows where boys invite each other to do things with each other? He had never experienced something like this before in the real. "It is always more fun to do this things with people you know, your friends and such," Shouyou chuckled as he said this. "Come on and do it with me Kei, please," Shouyou wanted to add but he didn't want to demand Kei to do it. He needed to take this first step on his own.

"That sounds like it could be fun, but I'll think about it," Kei was afraid that he might be pretty bad at it as physical education wasn't one of the classes where he actually scored the highest on. As an ace student he was wholly dedicated to the academic subjects. That isn't to say he was unable to pass the physical education classes, but he wasn't really the person that everyone in middle school ran to join their basketball or soccer clubs. Would volleyball take away time from his studies? What would it be like playing on a team of other people excited for volleyball like Shouyou? What if they all stare and look at him like those in his middle school did? Though with Shouyou there, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. How can Shouyou be so confident? These thoughts raced through his head.

Shouyou was tempted to beg him to join, but their lunch time was up. They quickly discarded the trash. As they entered the building, they looked back on the scene and thought of the photo they took. Both thought to themselves that they needed a picture together. Maybe tomorrow, Kei thought, making a mental note to bring his camera with him next time.

Once back in the classroom, Shouyou typed a quick email to Akiteru,

"Hey Akiteru,

Kei is off to a good start. He is warming up to me bit by bit. He still seems the same from when I knew him in elementary school at times, though at other times he responds weirdly. It's strange and noticeable. I try to make him feel comfortable though. Is this what you were talking about? He also seems to close himself off from people ै. Oh well, I'm having fun with him and am trying to get him to come to join the volleyball club with me.

Shouyou Hinata"

Shouyou was glad to be helping Kei. Not that he would have told Akiteru no or anything, but Kei probably wouldn't have been his first choice for friends in this classroom. He was certainly friendlier than he seemed on the outside. Shouyou hadn't ever had any bookish type friends before so this was a new experience. Kei had certainly changed a bit in that regard but otherwise was still the same glasses wearing tall yellow haired boy he remembered from when he was in school with him many years ago. His personality was another question. At times he seemed like a great and wonderful guy and one that continued to make him feel warm, but at other times, he seemed like a really insecure and scared boy who had never had any friends before. He was far too cautious about things and a bit too visibly shaken when he said things wrong or had to admit his own faults. What happened between elementary school and now? If only he could ask him directly. Shouyou clenched his phone at these thoughts. I have to do something to help Kei get over this he thought, but what could be done?

Before they knew it, it was time to leave school. At the front entrance, they both said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Halfway back home, Kei heard the familiar rumbling of his phone and checked his messages.

"Don't forget to come with me to volleyball club meeting next week. Put it on your calendar!" Kei read. He started to feel a bit bad for giving Shouyou a non-answer earlier. But he had to admit getting a message like this did make him feel wanted. For the first time in a while someone was actually wanting him to do something with them, and this time it wasn't even for tutoring. As he was typing a response, another message appeared. "It's fine if you don't want to but I had fun today and I think you'd really like it."

Shouyou hoped that his messages would really make Kei reconsidered. If he could spend more time with Kei then maybe he could get to the bottom of Kei's problem and help him out. Volleyball would be very time intensive and give them much more time together. They would also be able to find a few other people to have as companions. Maybe they could even form close friendships. If Kei had more friends and more people then maybe he could open up more and not be tense. Shouyou fist-pumped as he began to piece together this plan that could help Kei. Though he hoped it would work as well in the real as it did in his head.

"Akiteru, I think I want to join the volleyball club," Kei messaged to Akiteru. Already being filled in on the details from Shouyou's message,

Akiteru responded succinctly, "Do it Kei!"

"But won't it take a lot of time? High School is hard," Kei responded. It was true that it could be a major distraction and a huge time sink. He didn't want to start off on a bad note in his first year.

"Come on Kei, you were able to balance school work while being able to read you tomes on dinosaurs and early Earth history. Volleyball can't take more time than that. You even did that on weekends when there were no classes," he messaged. He definitely had to get Kei to join. "And I think it would be fun if you got to experience doing things with other people. Your teammates become your lifelong friends and companions."

Kei attempted to type a quick response but then paused to think about it. What Akiteru messaged certainly was something he wanted. He had felt he had a void in his life by not having friends like the ones he saw on TV. Today's time with Shouyou showed him that it was something that he absolutely craved and wanted to have more of too. "Okay Akiteru, I think I'll do it. I met a classmate who wanted me to come with him to see how it was, so I think I will take him up on that offer." Kei responded.

"Oh you made a friend?! !(•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑" Akiteru messaged. He was tempted to call Kei instead of messaging but went ahead and messaged anyway. Kei could be studying so he didn't want to interrupt him too much.

Kei blushed at this but texted a response after a few moments. "I don't know if we are friends, but we did text each other in class, and eat lunch together, oh wait a second," Kei said. He swiftly went into his phones gallery and sent what he was looking for to Akiteru. "This is my classmate Shouyou."

Akiteru hadn't seen Shouyou in years but recognized him instantly by his hair. He didn't seem like he got much taller but otherwise that was definitely Shouyou, smile and all. Akiteru took in the gorgeous scene as well and started to feel nostalgic for Karasuno. He knew exactly where this scene was and even recognized a few of the trees and benches that were also on the landscape. He had graduated recently and already missed it, at times wishing to go back. Maybe he would pay a visit if Kei played for the club.

"Shouyou's hair is wonderful. I'm sure he will be glad to see you join him. Look at that smile," Akiteru sent back.

Kei was glad that Akiteru commented on the same things he had pointed out about Shouyou. Now that he made a decision he would text Shouyou too. He swiftly added a caption to the photo "First day of high school, first friend, Shouyou," and sent it to print. He also emailed the photo to Shouyou with the caption and then sent a follow-up message. "I'll come with you to club meeting next week. See you tomorrow morning."


	3. Chapter 3

Kei went to bed with a smile on his face. Having decided to pursue spending more time with Shouyou, he could start to cross off one of the items on his bucket-list. He would be able to make this year become one of this best school years that he could remember. There would no longer be a lonely Kei, but instead a social Kei. He appreciated how good his life was finally becoming.

The next morning, Kei was greeted by an exuberant Shouyou who was humming a song very familiar to Kei. Kei thought of asking Shouyou how he knew the song, but was interrupted before he could speak.

"I'm so excited for next week, volleyball here will be so fun!" Kei started to smile at hearing Shouyou say this as they climbed the stairs to the classroom. On the way up, they passed a bulletin board with postings saying that an open volleyball club meeting would be held on the upcoming Monday. It reminded people to come dressed to play.

"Do you think there will be a lot of people, we won't be cut will we?" Kei wondered aloud. Shouyou visibly calmed down which caused Kei to worry. "I mean, no matter how many people there are, you just have to do your best!" Kei quickly said. He didn't want to ruin this for Shouyou. Shouyou started to look excited again. "You are full of passion for volleyball and you just have to show them that love for it." Kei continued.

"Thanks Kei, hopefully you will make it too. You have the perfect height for volleyball. You could be a middle blocker," Kei didn't tense up surprisingly, which shocked Shouyou a bit. Was he over his predisposition with his height? Though Shouyou reasoned that it was probably because he wouldn't be that strange among other volleyball players. Most volleyball players were on the tall side as it made it easier to hit and block the ball.

"I don't know if I want that to be the only reason I get selected," Kei said sadly. "Wouldn't that be bad to be the guy on the team who just has one thing going for him? I've seen it happen many times in some of my brother's matches previously."

"I don't think it will. You've at least experienced volleyball before and know the basic rules and what to expect. It's not like you'll be out there waving your hands around like you just don't care," Shouyou countered. He wondered where Kei's confidence went.

"But seeing is different than doing. I wasn't ever on a team or anything. I've only watched my brother play from the stands. It's not like everyone who watches people play baseball on TV can hit the ball when they play it recreationally. Similarly, they can be fast runners but they may be terrible at hand eye coordination to hit." Kei snapped back.

"But volleyball is different. You can clearly see where the ball is going and you're already standing in position. All you have to do is jump and hold your hands out. It requires way less skill than you're imagining." Shouyou said back. "I've blocked before and it is the same as I saw on TV. You just have to run up and jump or stand and jump. I can show you how easy it is if you come over to my house."

Kei aimed to respond back but it was already time for class to start. Time seemed to fly by when he talked to Shouyou. They didn't even realize it. Oddly other students in the classroom were staring at them. Fortunately, the teacher launched into a lesson before Kei could panic. Shouyou noticed but didn't pay them any mind. He had something more exciting to think about. Would Kei realize what he had just said?

After a half hour of the math lesson on the second part of solving algebra equations for x, y, and now z, Kei fired off a message to Shouyou. "I still think volleyball is harder than what you are saying. You had tons of time to play in middle school while I watched other people."

Shouyou thought to message quickly but soon another message from Kei arrived. "If I come over then you'll see how bad I am." Was Kei offering to actually come over to his house afterschool? That would be fun.

Kei's bag vibrated. He took his tablet out and read the notification on it. "And I'll show you that it is much easier than you are saying. You're probably a natural at this," read the message from Shouyou. Why did Shouyou have such confidence in Kei's ability? He couldn't figure Shouyou out. Or was this another one of those boy friendships opportunities he saw on his TV shows again? He thought of one of his episodes of the boy's friendship shows where they showed up to support each other playing basketball even though they had never been on a team before. No one had put each other down about the skills and only had faith in each other.

"Fine, fine 」 (￣▽￣」) "Kei messaged back. The emoticon would not make Shouyou worry about him. "We'll talk more at lunch, pay attention to this lesson," he said. He hoped that this would give him time to deliberate on deciding to go to Shouyou's house afterschool or not. Apart from a one-time event in middle school helping a female classmate in math, he had never been to a friend's house for fun and games. What was he supposed to do at Shouyou's after they did their little volleyball activity? Without structure what would happen? Would it turn out like his TV shows and they end up lounging around talking about girls or sports or joking around? Or worst, would it end where he, the guy with glasses, ends up being extremely quiet and out of place? Which of those personalities was the worst? Would Shouyou be turned off from him after he came over? Or perhaps he would be none of the above and would be someone he had never encountered in the animated shows? Needless to say, by the time Kei went through various scenarios for each of those questions it was already lunch time.

"Where do you even live?" Kei asked as they sat down by the tree from yesterday, ready to enjoy their lunch. Sadly, today was cloudy so the scene wasn't as picturesque as it was before. Kei quickly thought of this but then turned to the matter at hand.

"Instead of crossing by the waterway, I live a bit on the outskirts of town. It is a really nice area with tons of trees and hills. Though there aren't a lot of people nearby so I have a huge yard. I love it." Shouyou answered.

"Oh so that might be the same distance from my house." He responded. From what it sounded like he lived in the same sort of area that Kei lived in just in the other direction.

"So you're coming over?" Shouyou said with that same smile that Kei started to really like seeing. He needed to capture it someday he thought to himself. Not to dwell too much on it he responded with the answer that he came up with during the end of the class period.

"Definitely, I hope that I will be proven wrong by you. If so then we could definitely play on the same team. Though of course that's assuming they do pick both of us. But I'm confident you will make it." He didn't want to respond with what else he thought of saying. He couldn't imagine how Shouyou would respond if he went and said no because he was too nervous and inexperienced with what you do at a friend's house. He also didn't want to destroy their current relationship so he thought to at least take a chance. Going over there is better than not going over of course.

"Great, great," Shouyou nearly shouted as he stood up. This was going as good as he expected. He had thought Kei was going to continue to protest some more and come up with some excuse but he didn't. "I can't wait to go home now, it's going to be so fun." Kei laughed a bit in response and nodded his head. Seeing Shouyou happy made his day. Shouyou was glad that the plan he came up with was proceeding in the direction he hoped. Now that Kei would join him and be at the club meeting, maybe he could finally see about getting him some friends. Though these baby steps were necessary. It would be enlightening to see how Kei is outside of school.

Kei met up with Shouyou afterschool and walked towards Shouyou's house. Shouyou's house was uphill beyond the school and away from many of the businesses and close residences in their school district. As they went farther and farther away Kei noticed that there were plenty of tress in this direction as well as many wildflowers. He started to imagine how it must look in the morning when the flowers are covered in dew just after blooming and reveal their marvelous colors to anyone who was nearby. He then thought of how lucky Shouyou was to experience this every day. Maybe someday he could leave for school much earlier than usual and come here to look around this area before reaching Karasuno. It would be a great detour.

Shouyou interrupted Kei's thoughts of nature by tugging on Kei's arm as they passed one of the few local stores. A certain mom and pop convenience store got Shouyou's attention. "Kei lets go inside before we go to my house. I love their homemade candies." Kei was caught off guard by the physical contact and nearly tripped. His heart beat rose fast too. Shouyou seemed to not notice. Taking Kei's thoughts off the contact was the smell of strawberry marshmallows, candied pecans and almonds, chocolate caramel corns, and peanut brittle. He wondered why such a place was located out here in the middle of nowhere, it would be far better in the business district.

"Whoa, Shouyou what is this place. It smells so good," Kei said as he allowed himself to be tugged and pulled by Shouyou as they went closer.

"See, doesn't it smell so good," Shouyou proclaimed. The smell became the only thing they could focus on as they finally entered the store. A few minutes later they found themselves with a few samples of some candies as well as a large batch of strawberry marshmallows and some peanut brittle. Shouyou munched on the brittle as they continued up the hill to his house. Meanwhile Kei spent his time delighted over the strawberry marshmallows. Between bites he said, "I didn't know strawberry marshmallows could be so good. They are much better than the cheap stuff from the major brands." He was thoroughly impressed by this. He made a note to definitely come more often.

"It's the best, I love the brittle, especially how Momma makes it," Shouyou commented. Kei wondered if Shouyou meant his own mom. "Oh before you ask that is what we all call her at the store, Momma's Kitchen is the name after all." He chuckled.

"Well, hopefully Momma can keep on cooking these sweets. They are quite delicious," he said as he started another marshmallow.

"I'm glad you like it. And you must like strawberries too since you got so many of them," Shouyou pointed as he said it.

"Yeah they're so good. Strawberries can make so much stuff good. When strawberries are combined with sweets, how could I resist?" So Kei has a sweet tooth, Shouyou noted.

"We have to come here again." Shouyou remarked. He hoped Kei could come by his way more often. It would be fun to spend time afterschool with a friend instead of alone. Kei probably just went straight home from school and did nothing, which had to be boring Shouyou thought.

"Definitely, Momma's Kitchen makes me want to come by daily," Shouyou visibly saddened when Kei didn't realize that that would mean he would be coming with Shouyou more often. Maybe he would need to say it again later on.

They arrived at Shouyou's house quickly thereafter. Shouyou's house was a spacious two story townhouse with a very large yard. Kei thought it could fit at least two Olympic sized swimming pools and the stands necessary for them. There was even a small pond at the edge of the yard. Kei saw from the side of the house that it appeared that there was no end to Shouyou's backyard. It easily appeared to continue to the stream several acres behind the city. He was impressed with how close to the edge of town Shouyou was and more importantly to nature. If Kei lived here he thought he would definitely spend his free time exploring the backyard and beyond. It would be an area perfect for taking numerous photos.

Before going inside, Shouyou opened the garage and pulled out his volleyball set he had. Kei helped him bring it out to the front yard and set it up. Shouyou instructed him on what to do and within five minutes they were ready. Shouyou quickly went over the simple basics with Kei of how to block. He thought Kei could use a refresher. If he made him feel comfortable then he would be less willing to give into his low self-esteem nature for this. Once Kei said he understood they began.

Shouyou threw the ball straight up into the air and then once it came closer, he jumped and hit it with all his might over the net. Kei jumped up in an attempt to block. The ball hit the ground with a loud thud and rolled off behind Kei.

"Close but not close enough Kei. You need to be a bit faster on jumping. Anticipate where I will hit it," Shouyou said gently. Kei responded kindly to these words and went to gather the ball which stopped by the garage. "This time I will show you how it's done," Shouyou said once he was closer. Kei emulated Shouyou. Shouyou jumped with both hands above him completely stopping the ball from proceeding. It ricocheted off his arms and came back to Kei's side. Kei thought of hitting it but didn't think he wanted to risk diving on the lawn in his school uniform.

"That looked easy," Kei said as he gathered the ball again. This time he tossed it over to Shouyou so Shouyou could hit it back to him.

"It is," Shouyou responded. "Just do like I did and you'll have blocked." He tossed the ball right above his head again and hit it over the net. This time Kei had, for a brief second, seen where Shouyou aimed the ball. He quickly got into the area, put all his might into jumping, and kept his arms close together. He yelled in joy when he felt the ball hit his hands and speedily go back to Shouyou. Shouyou clapped immediately.

"Yeah Kei, that's it! I told you it was easy. To think you wanted to argue earlier about it." Shouyou laughed as he playfully hit Kei on the back. Kei felt warm all of a sudden from this. He was unsure of how to respond, but his face gave his true feelings away when Shouyou was looking at him wondering why he was starting to turn red.

"Cough, it's nothing," Kei coughed hoping to play it off like he was hot and parched.

"Do you need some water? Let's go inside," Shouyou said worryingly. Kei helped to take down the volleyball setup. They placed it into the garage and shut it as they proceeded into the house. Kei wondered how Shouyou's house would be. Would he get to see what hobbies people with friends have?

Shouyou showed Kei to the living room and turned on the TV. Kei sat down and looked around the room as it was filled with the sound of a popular sword wielding character slaying creatures in a post-apocalyptic society. Kei loved the show as it was a commentary on man's fascination with science yet their irresponsibility of protecting mankind.

Around the room were scores of statues and fabrics of indigenous people's creations. Either Shouyou had a fascination with native people or it was his parents' hobby. It was quite nice and unique Kei thought as it was his first time seeing a full length colorful quilt adorning a wall. The scene reminded him of what he read in books of native people being one with nature. The yellow orange sun was in the top followed by puffy white clouds on the side. Various native people in their colorful garments were shown huddled around their homes or fields dancing in joy for the plentiful crops yielded and the numerous animals roaming the lands.

"Like what you see?" Shouyou asked as he put the glass of water on the table. "That quilt is one of my mom's favorites. She got it from a local auction and thought it was one of the best things in the world."

"Wow there is so much, I guess she must really love Native Americans?" Kei responded.

"Yeah, she loves it. She studied it in college. I think she did a sort of immersive research experience with some natives and fell in love with them after that. She occasionally gets some stuff from some site visits so that's how we have all these unique items all around us," Shouyou answered. "I like it as it looks nice. Though it keeps her away from home quite a bit." He said.

Kei thought it sounded like Shouyou had a tinge of loneliness in his voice, which is something Kei could relate to. Often he was left alone for days and weeks at a time as his parents travelled the world pursuing their own research. Akiteru would occasionally visit but he was away at college so he couldn't stay home that much.

Shouyou sat down, turned on the tv, and started watching it. Kei soon followed.

"I love this scene," Kei remarked.

"Oh you watch shows like these?" Shouyou asked. "You didn't seem like the one that follows such action and fake shows."

Kei laughed, "Why would you think that?"

"The way you're so serious about class so far, animated shows seemed like they would be too fake for you to enjoy," Shouyou said.

"Not really. I can turn my brain off for a few moments to enjoy this stuff." Kei said. How odd that that is how people saw me, he thought. He didn't think he was all serious and no play. "This show is one of my favorites. The lead character is so edgy with the way he swings his blade and absorbs those Aragami." Kei had always loved watching this animated show. In it, the future of the human race was challenged by creatures that could form from some essence of the Earth that was hell-bent on taking out any and all human life and at times each other. The humans had to resort to using a blade crafted of these creatures to kill the other creatures.

"And the music they play is so awesome. I need the soundtrack once it releases. I always sing along to it." Shouyou added. He loved how the show combined his favorite genre of rock with some popular vocals. It really pumped him up.

"Me too! It sometimes feels like were watching a glorified five+ minute music video with the way some of the hits coincide with the highs of the vocals. And that one moment when they slashed the Aragami and posed on the plane…It's so awesome," Kei was getting visibly excited about this, and Shouyou was enjoying it too.

"Of course, that was one of the highlights for me. I had to record it and replay it over and over. Why couldn't I have been able to be such a cool Edge Lord as Utsugi Lenka?" Shouyou replied. He got up and did a few slashes like Utsugi Lenka with the sound effects. "I wish I could use a God Arc too and face those Aragami. It would be so much more interesting than being here in the real."

"But it seems kind of dangerous. The future world looks like death is all around us and the death count kept lowering. You never know when you will be the next one to die." Kei commented. "Though I would love to be one of the ones on the side of Fenrir to help defend the weak and build hopes for a brighter future."

"Yeah that would be great. Do you want to do something like that for a career?" Shouyou said. He believed that Kei had a noble heart.

"Yeah I think so. That's the best way to give back and I always liked helping others. Though I never had the chance to be helped. Well until you helped me today." Kei said. Shouyou smiled a bit. Did he already have a positive effect on Kei?

"But I think I'd just want to kill the monster and look cool while doing it. I like it since there doesn't seem to be people looking and praising and falling heads over heels for you like other shows," Shouyou said.

"Yeah they are such vain shows when they do that. No one is drooling over Lenka. Well Kota though but I think he clearly is in love with Lenka, but other than that there is no one," Kei said, suggesting that the guy closest to the main character in the show was romantically interested in him.

"Definitely, when he took him on that date in the town to visit the mom. It was like he was trying to get her blessing for their relationship," Hinata laughed. "Though seriously, it's so unlike the others. I remember seeing shows where the lead male character would fight and then at least five girls were all trying to get in his pants. He was cool and all, but that's silly to want that after saving people from a life or death situation."

"It's very unrealistic. I hope whoever ends up liking me will like me for who I am and not just for what I've done." Kei responded. "Personality is very important."

Shouyou thought for a bit on what Kei said. "True" was all he could manage to say. They turned their attention back to the show. They continued to discuss more of what they liked and disliked about the current state of animated shows involving sword swinging heroes. They came to an understanding of one another's preferences as well as outlooks on life from this discussion. After a few more episodes, Kei left to go home. Shouyou excitedly waved to him as he left and said he could come over anytime.

Later that evening Shouyou reflected on the day's events. He was glad that Kei not only came over for volleyball but stayed for much longer than he had anticipated. He thought Kei would leave right after they finished playing around. But since he did stay he was able to learn more about Kei. He liked what he heard from him about what is important for him in terms of liking someone. Rarely had people put emphasis on the personality of someone over their looks. He remembered that most of his classmates from middle school had all fell in love with this really cold and mean classmate that Shouyou stayed away from. He always had this icy cold gaze to him that Shouyou wondered how people could like him. The one time he bumped into him he felt like running and hiding in a corner as he was berated for being an idiot for bumping into him. It was like accidents don't even exist or people can't make mistakes. Yet there he was on some days with a fleet of girls surrounding him. The one guy never looked interested in them at all. How could they love someone like him?

"Thanks for coming over" he texted Kei before going to bed. Somehow Kei was starting to take up quite a bit of his attention and free thoughts. Kei was such a good guy to be around and talk to. He craved more.

"Thanks for letting me come over o(〃＾▽＾〃)o," Kei replied back. He was almost drifting off to sleep but started to awaken upon receiving the text. "I had more fun than I expected," Kei typed but didn't send. He thought of how the message could be interpreted by Shouyou. Would Shouyou think he had expected to be bored out of his mind? Or would he take it like a compliment that he thought Shouyou was more fun than had met the eye. Maybe he could put a happy emoticon in the message to keep Shouyou from thinking negatively. Unfortunately, it could backfire if Shouyou knew that he was trying to mislead him. He eventually deleted the text and waited for a reply.

"Yes it was awesome," Shouyou responded. "Don't forget you're free to come over anytime. Maybe sometime after practice too." Kei realized he could be spending more time with Shouyou in the near future. With this as the last message he read that night, he went to sleep gripping his phone with peaceful thoughts of fun times ahead.

Shouyou squealed gleefully at Kei's text and emoticon. His plan was working swimmingly well thus far. Kei had started to break out of his shell with him and even got into a fully vibrant conversation earlier. To think a show could bring them together so fast and so quickly. He started to feel like he knew Kei for much longer than these two days. Shouyou flopped down on his pillow continuing to replay the events of the day in his head. He was liking high school so far and hoped that these days could continue. For now he would rest easy with thoughts of Kei filling his dreams and his aspirations for a volleyball playing future looming on the horizon ready to be realized.

Kei and Shouyou continued to have great times in class and at lunch for this first week of school. As the days went by they become a hot topic in the classroom in which the tallest person in class was swiftly becoming friends with the boy with orange hair. Classmates stared at first but now they had become used to it. It was now as normal as a classroom's chalkboard or computer something you looked at all the time and felt normal and necessary. Though Kei had yet to branch out and speak to other students. People in class thought he was far more human and approachable than he was on the first day of class. Shouyou was leaving a lasting impression on him that was changing him for the better, they believed.

Monday arrived faster than they expected. Kei was ready for the next challenge of his everyday school life, the fateful encounter with a high school sports team. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, but with Shouyou by his side he felt somewhat confident that he would do well. Side by side, they entered the volleyball club room with much oomph in their steps.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Shouyou and Kei entered the dark volleyball clubroom, they encountered many screams and shouts. It was eerie. Shouyou jumped on Kei instantly visibly shaking. Kei, who was still trying to keep it together with the screams, was caught off guard by Shouyou. Though before he could respond, the floor beneath them gave way, completely collapsing, sending them hurtling into the Earth. Shouyou screamed loudly while gripping Kei for all his life. Kei struggled to keep hold of him as they tumbled further and further. Floorboards and cement from the foundation, wallpaper and shelves from the walls, and bookcases and chairs rained down around them. A thick thud was the last thing Kei heard as he blacked out from the impact.

In the middle of an expansive meadow under an overcast sky lay a slumbering Shouyou and Kei. Shouyou's hair rustled in the wind catching the attention of a hungry crow flying in search of food. Mistaking Shouyou's orange hair for an attractive meal, it landed immediately and started to nibble on it.

"Stop it, stop it," Shouyou murmured as he moved his hand to try to swat it away. The crow continued confident that it could enjoy this new food in peace. Shouyou was not pleased and swatted harder and harder. The crow ignored him once more and continued to dig around in Shouyou's hair. After a few more seconds, Shouyou jumped up and attempted to hit it. The crow flew away in response as Kei's sudden screaming.

"What'd you do that for!" he shouted as he rubbed his stomach. Shouyou had landed on Kei's stomach.

"Sorry, sorry, Kei," Shouyou responded as he kneeled down and pulled Kei's shirt up. He started rubbing Kei's stomach saying, "I hope this makes it feel better." His hands made small circular motions on Kei's soft skin to hopefully ease the pain away. Kei's stomach was smooth yet warm. Shouyou didn't say anything when Kei squirmed a bit and tensed some but did smile longingly when he eventually relaxed and responded to the touching. Kei hummed lightly in response. It was surprising how peaceful and calming it felt. Shouyou remembered that this was something his mother did to him whenever he had a stomach ache. It always worked to make him feel comfortable afterwards.

Although Kei hummed in response, he knew that he couldn't look at Shouyou face to face. This was something so foreign to him that he didn't know what else to do. Though he did feel quite in pain from the landing, he started to smile as Shouyou's hand motions became more calming making him forget that he had even hurt. Kei blushed in response to this close contact. No one had touched his stomach before. After a few minutes he thought of turning over to look at Shouyou but he had second thoughts. If his face was red how would he respond to Shouyou if Shouyou asked about it? He didn't think of anything that he could possibly say. Kei decided to try to sneak and get a peek at Shouyou. As he did, he saw that Shouyou was looking at his stomach as if it was one of the most coveted artworks at a display. He was wholly concentrated on the task at hand, treating it like an expert violinist as she performs the most pivotal recital of her career. Kei was mesmerized by Shouyou's expression and wanted to lean closer to examine him further. In fact, he wanted to capture this moment on film for his photo book. As he thought of this he jumped up in surprise.

"Wait, Shouyou, where are we?" Kei said. Shouyou stopped the stomach rubbing and moved back a few inches. "Remember the floor collapsing as we were going to the Karasuno Volleyball Club Room?"

"Yes that was so creepy, what happened and where are we?" Shouyou said in one of the most serious tones Kei imagined he would ever hear from Shouyou. Shouyou had been so concerned with the bird and with Kei that he briefly forgot about the predicament they were in. In a few mere moments they had gone from their precious Karasuno High School to this unfamiliar meadow. The journey had been quite strange.

"Speaking of that, how did we even survive that fall?" Kei said, though mostly in a tone to himself. "In looking at the speed that we fell and how we fell, with you on me, and the angle we were falling in, we should have landed head first into the ground." He looked at where they were sitting to see if there were any marks in the ground for where they had landed. There weren't any in the area they were sitting in. "Do you think we were moved here?"

"If we were, who would have moved us?" Shouyou asked. There weren't houses or other structures around. There weren't even other people.

Kei glanced around in response. Shouyou was right, there weren't common building structures located anywhere near them. Exactly what was there to explain their situation? "Then I guess we can't answer that question. There is no one here." He scanned the horizon for maybe some toiled fields or animals grazing. The meadow would make a great place for farmers and cattle. Unfortunately, he saw none.

"So we stumbled into the club room, fell through the floor, landed somehow, and ended up in a meadow? This is too crazy Kei. Too crazy, am I going crazy Kei? Is this all a dream. If I pinch myself will I wake up back in the courtyard?" Shouyou said quickly. Shouyou talked faster and flailed his arms around furiously.

Kei realized that it appeared that Shouyou couldn't handle change and even new situations. He had little to no situational awareness, and worst of all, he was on the verge of panicking. Kei didn't want to deal with this, so he decided to take the lead on everything. "I don't think the answer will come to us, so we need to go out and find the answer ourselves." Kei sat up and gripped Shouyou by the shoulder. This ended Shouyou's rambling. "For now we decide on which direction to walk. If we run into anyone then we can ask them what is going on and where we are," Kei added as he looked at Shouyou directly in the eye. Shouyou nodded as Kei loosened his grip. Kei began to move around to get his bag. When it wasn't near him he turned around to see if it was behind him but it wasn't. Kei's face became flushed.

"Where is your bag?" Shouyou noticed that Kei nearly fell to the ground gripping his heart. Shouyou moved closer to Kei to see if something was wrong. "Wait, is something wrong Kei? You aren't having a heart attack are you?" Kei looked confused and lost but quickly regained his composure. He pushed up his glasses to readjust them and started walking towards the horizon. It was as if he hadn't heard Shouyou at all. Shouyou followed Kei, silently wondering what happened.

They continued to pass endless tall grasses and a murders of crows as they moved deeper into the expansive field of wilting flowers. The sounds of the wind and the occasional crowing of the crows were the only sounds they heard. It was strange, Shouyou thought, that there was such a place like this. Shouldn't there be other animals, bugs even? Shouyou thought to ask Kei about it but it appeared that Kei was still lifelessly moving in a forward direction. It had been about thirty minutes before curiosity got the best of Shouyou. He moved closer to Kei and posed a question.

"Isn't this weird Kei?" Shouyou said as he shivered. "There's nothing out here." As he addressed Kei, Kei stopped walking and glanced back. He then turned to Shouyou and focused intently on him. For a brief instant, Shouyou thought Kei was crying. His eyes were red and it appeared there was some wetness on his cheeks. As he looked closer to see if he saw tears, the sky opened and rain drops began to fall on Kei's face. Shouyou backed away as raindrops fell on him. A powerful thunderclap resounded shaking them and the ground. Shouyou put off talking to Kei. Both boys looked at each other and silently understood what they needed to do. They hightailed it out of there as fast as they could. Being in a field during lightning was dangerous and they didn't want to die by electrocution. As they ran forward, the downpour became torrential with the wind whisking heavy raindrops onto their faces. Thunder boomed all around them making their hair stand up. Lightning illuminated their path helping them in seeing their destination.

"How much further do we need to run?" Shouyou screamed. Kei looked back at Shouyou with a clear look of uncertainty in his face. After a few more minutes, Shouyou began to notice that something was wrong with Kei. Every step he took looked immensely painful. It was like he was just making the motions of moving through quicksand. Kei started coughing as his pace slowed. Kei looked like he was about to fall over in pain. Upon seeing this Shouyou decided to run closer. As Shouyou caught up with him, he realized they had both ran onto a muddy part of the meadow. Hinata remembered from a past school field trip that if someone wasn't careful they would stumble and fall. In that trip Shouyou had tried to participate in a mud race, but realized that he had awful coordination in mud. Needless to say he fell constantly and consistently breaking his leg in the process. It required several weeks of physical theory. Shouyou had been more careful since then since a cast or boot is one of the most limiting things to be on. He never wanted to be that limited in mobility ever again. As he looked at Kei more, he realized that Kei had just stepped in a very muddy section of the field. Kei wasn't paying attention and stepped wrongly. Shouyou knew exactly what was going to happen next. To prevent it, he dashed quickly to Kei. Shouyou displayed found fantastic footing taking full advantage of the traction provided. Shouyou appeared in front of Kei just in time to grab Kei as he stumbled. He successfully kept Kei from falling. "Kei come on," Shouyou said while having his hand in his hand and an arm around his stomach. At this point, he could feel Kei shivering from the cold and the rain. When Kei didn't respond, Shouyou tried to look at him face to face. Though the rain obscured Shouyou's vision and completely covered Kei's glasses, he could see Kei's red eyes. Kei had been crying silently as they ran.

Kei took full advantage of Shouyou's help. The fall had been the last thing on his mind. Seeing that Shouyou was there he grabbed tightly and began to lean on Shouyou's shoulder bitterly crying in the process. Kei let the tears flow and flow. Kei thought of the struggles of the day and didn't understand why it all had come crashing down on him in such a way. To lose his camera, his life blood, his passion, his energy upon entering this foreign land was like losing Akiteru, a loved one. Kei stumbled as the thoughts kept pouring into his mind. His camera was gone which helped in these situations. It was his medicine, his comfort, and his most prized possession. Years' worth of pictures were stored on it. These were pictures to memorialize and to keep on display in his room. It gave him a sense of belonging and a sense of self. Losing it was like losing a part of your body, simply unreplaceable. He needed those photos he said. Kei wept more and clenched his chest at the realization that someone could have taken his prized camera and beloved photos: photos of him and Shouyou yet to be printed out, photos ready to be put in his book and remembered for time immemorial, photos that were going to serve as proof that he wasn't as socially inept as he thought he was. He couldn't handle the burden of losing so many precious memories. Volleyball with Shouyou was what his whole week had built up to but now he was thrust into this unknown place. Would losing the photos mean he would lose Shouyou too? Without Shouyou he would go back to being friendless Ace Student Kei - Successful at school and poor at social events. This was supposed to be the time of his life, all he wanted to do was to have friends. Not this. Anything but this. Why this? What did I do to deserve this Kei thought? He had never felt so helpless before and couldn't handle it. As he opened his eyes he noticed the scenery. Everything around him seemed to support the idea of loss and even death. The wilting flowers felt like an ominous presence to him sending negative energy his way. The crows too. Crows typically hang around trash and other forms of passed on items. Meanwhile the wilting flowers signified death. Why are they all wilting, why have they all died? With so much uncertainty he began to feel useless, insignificant, and fearful.

Shouyou gripped Kei and tried to calm him down. He didn't know what was wrong with Kei but he stayed there and let him cry it out. Shouyou didn't mind but he was hoping they could move forward in the rain, mud, and wind. The weather had not improved yet they were still in the middle of the meadow being abused by the elements. By now their clothes were completely soaked through revealing some of their skin color through the shirts. Kei's shivering had intensified which took Shouyou's mind off of moving. He hugged Kei to try to warm him up. As he did, he could hear Kei whisper something that sounded like he thought Shouyou would abandon him. "I'm not going anywhere Kei," Shouyou said, but Kei didn't hear him. After a few moments, Kei's tears stopped and Shouyou nudged him to start walking. Kei was still holding Shouyou's hand, but they walked on. Eventually they picked up their pace. They were now briskly walking but had accepted that they were going to be drenched. After ten minutes of walking like this they still saw no other buildings or people. Someone is supposed to be out here, Shouyou thought aloud. Kei was still sniffing and in his own sorrowful world.

After a bit of time the rain finally slowed down, eventually stopping. The wind became a calm breeze while rumbles of thunder became mere murmurs from afar. Shouyou looked at Kei smiling to himself as he noticed that Kei had not been crying anymore. With Kei over his issue, he seemed like he was back to normal.

"Thanks Shouyou," Kei said as he stopped walking. He applied a bit of pressure to Shouyou's hand as he said this, smiling in his direction.

"No problem," Shouyou said while looking at their hands then back to Kei. They were still holding hands but it felt natural and organic. Color had returned to Kei's face. Though his hair was partially covering his eyes and water dripped from above, he noticed they weren't red anymore. "I would never leave a friend behind."

"I'm glad for that. Any reasonable person would have left the injured behind as they went in search of their own happiness. Often times, when I was in groups, if someone wasn't pulling their own weight they were left behind and told to fend for themselves," Kei said.

"That's wrong, I would never do that," Shouyou said. "We're all in this together so everyone has equal responsibility."

"But it's the truth, it's logical to abandon the dead weight so that the task can be completed. So here, it would have been logical to leave me so that you could make it to safety. Imagine how much ground you could have covered if you didn't have me with you. You could have easily made it far enough to find other human beings." Kei said somberly.

"What fun is there in being on an adventure in an unknown place alone? Without you, I don't even know what I would have done." Shouyou declared. "I'm bad with directions, I don't even know what's here. Everything around looks exactly the same for miles in every direction. For all I know, I would have gone in circles. If anything you should have left me behind when we first started. What good am I?"

"You're wrong!" Kei shouted, scaring Shouyou a bit. "Shouyou, you're kind and caring. You're concerned not only for yourself but for others. For the past week you have shown me what it's like to have friends. You received nothing in return from me even. You talked to me when it doesn't even benefit you. You had me come over to your house for fun, and so much more. You're a wonderful guy and one I love being around. What good are you? Stop, don't ask yourself that. I'm the one who should be asking myself that. Why do you think I had no friends from middle school even though people from my school are at Karasuno? Just stop and don't sell yourself short like that!" Kei said moving his hands animatedly to try to drive his point home further.

Shouyou remained quiet for a few moments and then smiled. Though he could have countered back with numerous comments to tell Kei that he needs to take his own advice, he didn't want to make this an argument. "Thanks Kei, I understand," Shouyou said. Kei nodded in response. Shouyou thought to ask him about what just happened but he felt as if Kei wasn't ready. He remembered that some things made Kei uncomfortable. Knowing that Kei was just crying over what it was, he didn't pry any further. If Kei wanted to make that information public then Shouyou would be right there with him whenever that time came. If not then he wouldn't pressure Kei to do it.

The whole ordeal left Shouyou shocked. Kei had been the last person he would have expected to have broken down from the circumstances around him. From what he had heard from some of the other Karasuno students who went to the same middle school as Kei, Kei had been one of the most successful students many had been in class with. He had displayed no bad traits at all, was always one of the ones they voted as future leader of the country, and was the most responsible student around. No one had ever said anything about who he hung around or if he had friends. That was because, as they revealed to Shouyou, that it was probably because no one could ever get close to him. He seemed to keep people at a distance from them or either killed people with kindness that most felt turned off and unable to reach his level. He was a handsome, fantastic, and almost perfect guy but not someone you would invite to hang out with or sit at lunch with or take to a game or a party. Shouyou had took these comments with a grain of salt as his time with Kei had been simply fantastic. After seeing how Kei had broken down, he began to see that there was some truth to their statements. He was lonely and afraid of being lost or abandoned. Though what else was he suffering from, Shouyou wondered, as that was the only thing he heard Kei say.

Now that the rain stopped, they decided to take a short break and regroup. Kei used his mental map to try to recreate the path that they took from where they fell in this land. He believed that they had walked in a fairly straight line but had lost strayed somewhat from it once it started raining. Though he believed they were still going in the same direction and not backwards, he went over all that they knew about their surroundings. There wasn't much to go by since it was the same meadow they woke up in and the birds remained constantly overhead. He starred at the birds for a while and wondered if they could instead follow the birds to find a way to where civilization is currently located. Though he didn't know how he would get the birds to return to their home versus just following them on their journey. The murder of crows had returned swiftly to being overhead once they rain stopped.


	5. Chapter 5

*Thanks for the reviews and still reading. I love these two so much and putting them in non volleyball scenarios is kind of fun. I know this story is a bit out there for the fandom but it was a fun little thought experiment. Also in rereading I think it was here that I finally did become a bit more comfortable with the long form of writing, with handling characters speaking, and lastly with keeping things focused and advanced. BTW Happy New Year

Quick summary: Shouyou has been asked by Akiteru to help lonely Kei break out of his shell and have a normal high school life. Kei takes great interest in Shouyou equating him to how he believes it feels to have a friend. As their friendship is developing they are thrust into an alternate world. Trying to handle the new events Kei breaks down afraid of being abandoned and lonely yet again. After some reassuring words and some spilled emotions, Kei recovers slightly.*

"Shouyou, I think that this meadow isn't what it seems to be," Kei spoke after they walked a few more hours. "No matter how far we walk, we keep seeing the same thing, no animals except for crows, no flora except for the same wilted flowers, and the no change in weather except for the same overcast skies. I just can't think of how something like this is even possible."

Shouyou looked at him questioningly. "Explain, Kei," he said.

"Just look all around us," Kei added emphasis by dramatically spreading his arms in both directions. "You thought something was strange earlier so I think you feel it too. But it feels as if this is all just artificial." It was the only thing Kei could say. He didn't know how it was possible but it just was. "Whatever force is out there is trying to keep us in this space. It's the only thing that explains this."

"How or what would want to do that to us. We're just first year high schoolers that wanted to join a volleyball club." Shouyou chuckled in disbelief.

"Think about it seriously, Shouyou," Kei said sternly. "This is no laughing matter." Shouyou straightened up in response. "Do you remember when you…er was comforting me after you jumped on me," Kei didn't know how else to describe the scene. If he was being truthful it was beautiful but he couldn't admit it just yet.

"Yes, I do, I had just jumped on your stomach and you cried out in pain. I went to rub your stomach the same way my mom did when I was sick. You seemed really relaxed and relieved afterwards. I was surprised." Shouyou answered.

"Normally that wouldn't do anything but make someone feel good. It is one of those things people do to comfort each other in their time of need. When they can't do anything else but watch, they do this to try to alleviate your pain and make you think of something tangible. Thinking of something tangible will turn your focus onto what they are doing and make you believe that it has the power to heal. You know when parents kiss their kids thumb when they cut it? It's like that, something mental. But here, when you did it, it actually exhibited the power of healing." Kei said. "I know it's hard to believe but…" he trailed off.

"Wait, are you saying, what I'm thinking you're saying." Shouyou brightened up at the realization of what Kei was saying.

"Yes, I believe we have stumbled into a world in which we seem to have some sort of magical powers," Kei declared.

"Then I'm like the white mage? How lame," Shouyou looked disappointed that it appeared he had been given the gift of healing.

"What's bad with that," Kei chuckled, "I mean, you were able to heal me. Aren't you at least glad to do that?"

"Yes, but…it isn't very cool." Shouyou pouted.

"Who knows, maybe you can do other stuff that we have yet to discover." Kei added. "Though I wonder what I can do."

"I know! Why you don't try to do what I did earlier." Shouyou proceeded to move closer to Kei, lifting his shirt in the process. Sadly, it was still soaked with water so he couldn't get it to stay up.

"There's no need." Kei said as his face started to turn red from seeing Shouyou's smooth and soft stomach. "I already tried while we were walking and nothing happened. I would imagine that it means that we may only have one sort of class that we fit into with our abilities in this world."

"Oh I know about that. I remember some games and animated shows have the obligatory spell caster, obligatory healer, and so on. No one can use the other's abilities." Shouyou let his shirt back down as he thought of these shows.

"Exactly, since it doesn't seem like my abilities have manifested, maybe it has to be activated upon a certain situation? Though unless we change this situation that we are in, I will never be able to find out." Kei was visibly frustrated when he returned to the premise of the discussion. Unless they escaped whatever they were in, they would never be able to move on.

"Kei," Shouyou shouted after a few minutes. "I sense something up ahead." After Kei finished talking, Shouyou could finally tell him what had been nagging him for a few minutes. He had sensed someone or something in pain for a while but thought it was just his mind. He couldn't describe it but could tell it was something. Some force was calling out to him. As they continued to walk, it continued to intensify.

"What?" Kei stated as he stopped pacing back and forth. He had been lost in thought entertaining theories as to what was keeping them in their current predicament.

"There is something over there," Shouyou pointed in the direction. Kei's eyes followed.

"I don't see anything." Kei declared. He could only see more flowers.

"But there is something there," Shouyou declared forcefully.

Kei looked at him blankly. He noticed the seriousness in Shouyou's brown eyes. After a few moments of thinking he said, "Then let's go and check it out."

Shouyou picked up the pace as they moved in the direction he had pointed them in. Kei struggled to keep up with Shouyou's pace, begging a few times if he could slow down some. Shouyou tried to a few times but after a while kept moving. Kei trailed behind some but eventually reached the place where Shouyou had stopped.

There on the ground in front of Shouyou lay a person whom Kei had never seen before. How Shouyou had detected this person was something Kei struggled to answer. Was this another one of the powers that Shouyou was blessed with? Before he could answer though they had to check out the person in front of them.

Shouyou was already attempting to treat the person. The guy on the ground was wearing one of Karasuno volleyball clubs practice shirts, Kei noticed. Shouyou appeared to recognize the person nodding once he was able to sit him up.

"Kei, I believe this is one of our school's second year players, Hisashi Kinoshita." He told him. The player appeared to have brown hair, looked a bit shorter than Kei but taller than Hinata, and dressed for practice. Shouyou touched Hisashi's head sending green sparks of aura his way. Shouyou focused intently on delivering the healing power thinking of nothing else.

"How did you do that," Kei asked silently. How was Shouyou a natural at this when they hadn't even been here that long? For the second time since meeting Shouyou, Kei was impressed at Shouyou's innate ability to be a natural at something that people would need to practice with. Though how would one be a natural at healing?

Shouyou had no answer for Kei. Instead, he focused more on Hisashi. As more green energy flowed from Shouyou into Hisashi, Shouyou's breathing intensified. The level of concentration needed appeared to be great, taxing Shouyou in the process. As soon as Kei noticed Shouyou about to tumble over he rushed to him and propped him up. Shouyou smiled in the process glad for the warmth from Kei's hands on his back and the support. He put more focus into his healing onto Hisashi. Soon after, Hisashi awakened.

"What are you doing," Hisashi stated groggily. He looked up at Shouyou's hand being pressed on his head.

"Oh this?" Hinata responded with outstretched hands, "Just healing you."

"Impossible," Hisashi said as he scooted back a bit in fear, "what sorcery is this?"

Kei coughed, trying to stifle a laugh.

"But it's true," Hinata declared. He looked confused.

"I can explain," Kei said as he moved closer to Hisashi. "It appears that we have landed in some foreign world in which magic is real. It is hard to believe but it is the truth."

Hisashi looked at Kei and then back at Shouyou as if he had been hearing that he had won the lottery. It was something unbelievable and one he just wasn't ready to accept. Shouyou nodded when Hisashi looked him. Though what he was about to say added even more credibility to the entire situation.

"Magic, before today I would have said that that is impossible but now I'm having second thoughts," Hisashi said. "I will say that something strange is going on." At this he stood up and continued, "All I remember is greeting some stone cold faced guy in today's volleyball practice, and then all of a sudden being enveloped in some black miasma. The last thing I saw was his chillingly vile smirk, as I blacked out."

"Wait, someone in the real did this?" Kei said. "How even!?" That didn't seem possible for someone to be able to do, he thought instantly. Magic didn't exist in the real. If it did, why had it never been reported? Magic was thrust into the fictional book section of libraries after all.

"That can't be," Shouyou attempted to say but the words didn't come out. Kei and Hisashi both looked to Shouyou who had seemed to turn deathly pale. "It just," he said quietly.

Kei moved closer to Shouyou. "What is wrong with you, Shouyou?" Shouyou didn't respond but eventually spoke. "That guy sounds eerily familiar. Based on the description, he could be the same guy that that a student at my middle school. I ran into him once and can never forget that horrifying face and that dreadful personality. Except there he was immensely popular and had girls and guys wanting to be friends with him. To think he came to Karasuno, but also did this to Hisashi. I just can't believe it. Or rather, to think this was his doing all along. What if he was doing this in middle school, Kei?!" Shouyou seemed visibly shaken by the implications of today's event. If it was true than even in middle school, people were thrown into this expanse.

"That may be so, but we need to actually figure out what to do with where we're at." Kei said, trying to get Shouyou to think of the present events and not dwell on the past. Now was not the time to go thinking about what should have or could have been done. Hisashi nodded in agreement. In order to give Shouyou some time to recover, Kei gave Hisashi a quick overview of how they had ended up in the area and what they had discovered. He skipped over the emotional details.

"So I may have some power too?" Hisashi stated. "This is too surreal, man." Kei didn't understand what was wrong with Shouyou and Hisashi. Weren't they shocked or surprised about the manifestation of magic powers happening before their eyes. This was unprecedented. It goes against the very course of nature.

"Yes but so far it appears only Shouyou's have been able to be used. I've yet to figure out what I can do, and I guess the same is with you." Kei stated in response.

"What if it is something really cool?" Shouyou said. "Like summoning dragons or spirits."

"I hope not," Kei and Hisashi said in unison.

"Why?!" Shouyou asked.

"First, how would he even control those things?" Kei asked sincerely. "It would be improbable and risky to have him summon a dragon. We could be burnt to a crisp if it got out of hand. This isn't a video game. I do not think there are restarts. We didn't pass any save points you know."

"But I can heal. That means I should be able to revive us in the case one of us gets a fatal wound." Shouyou answered.

"That may be so, but do you really want to go through the pain of dying?" Kei stated. Though it was possible they could be revived, experiencing excruciating pain was not something he desired anyone to go through. "And what happens if you, the healer dies? In most of what I've played the healer is the first to die."

Shouyou pouted as he listened to Kei. Kei made sense though it appeared Shouyou really wanted to see a dragon.

Hisashi laughed at this exchange noting that it was nice to see two first years get along really well. He thought it would be great to have them on the team. Normally, today would have been the day that he would have been in club with the other second years on the team to play against the incoming first year students. The friendly game would simply decide which position suited which of the students. Because there were vacancies that needed to be filled and less players than positions available it would have been a very relaxed tryout. Unfortunately, when he stumbled in the court to set up the game, he found himself face to face with the mysterious evil student.

"Alright guys, I think we need to make it our goal of getting out of here. Though first, do you sense anyone else Shouyou," Hisashi asked. He didn't know if he was the only one caught in the student's miasma from earlier.

Shouyou nodded his head indicating that he couldn't detect anyone close to them.

"So that suggests that either there is no one else here, or there is some limit to how far Shouyou can detect people," Kei chimed in after Shouyou nodded. "I wish it could tell us if someone was watching us."

"Why would we need to know that?" Shouyou asked.

"Well, I just think that it is strange that we were thrown in here with no supervision. If powers are able to manifest themselves then one would expect that we could find some way to escape. Furthermore, isn't it strange that the crows have vanished?" Kei pointed upwards as he said this.

For Hisashi, this was his first time noticing that there were no animals in the meadow around them. "No wonder I had the feeling that something was missing. There are no sounds of animals here," he said. "I think someone could be watching us though. Just think about it, you all experienced fierce weather conditions on your way walking. Clearly, whoever was doing that was trying to misdirect you to some other place. You were probably getting too close to something important so that was done to force you to go somewhere else. Meanwhile, I was here in this area with nary a drop of water on me."

"True, if the weather were natural then it should have still carried some wind and rain here. You also could have woken up from the thunder too. Lastly, they could easily have made the weather span this entire region. It is very suspicious." Kei added.

Shouyou nodded taking in what both of them said.

"Thus I think it makes sense if we head back in the direction we came. Shouyou could add some buffs to us so that we can last against the powerful rainstorm and make it where the evil one doesn't want us," Kei said confidently. "I think we can do this!"

Hisashi found himself in a daze over Kei's game plan and agreed wholeheartedly. Shouyou did too.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad this story found readers. Its my precious novel and I treat it like a newborn baby, so I'm happy it gets love.

"So why is he called the evil one," Hisashi asked as he tailed Shouyou and Kei. They were retracing their steps to get back to the muddy arena where they encountered the fierce rainstorm.

"What else would we call him," Kei answered.

"I don't know, but that name sounds pretty grimdark edgelord, you know, you might as well have just called him, Dark Lord of the Black Materials," Hisashi laughed as he said this.

Kei and Shouyou blushed at the same time. They were fans of edgy try hard things of this sort so they didn't see anything wrong with the name they gave to the one who may be responsible for their situation.

"I think it sounds cool," Kei said quietly. He actually liked the name Hisashi came up with. If the guy can make dark holes to transport people to dark dimensions, he might as well be a dark lord.

Apparently Hisashi thought their response was funny and started laughing heartily.

Their walk towards the muddy area was filled with the sounds of light chatter amongst themselves. Hisashi mainly spoke. He described to them all the things they would have done for their first practice. They listened intently as he described the type of drills they would have done. Shouyou perked up visibly when he described that they would practice blocking as well. He also told them that the team was looking for new first years as the third years were soon going to be graduating. As a result, many holes in the team roster needed to be filled. Shouyou and Kei chimed in with questions whenever something came up. Hisashi was happy to answer. To Kei, it appeared that Hisashi was strongly implying that anyone that tried out would be added to the team. Hisashi addressed Kei's concern by stating that the team was in a transition phase. The captain was trying to position it well for the future. They had some of the pieces in place to be able to be competent contenders at the national level but needed a few more players to get there. Therefore, with new first years filling positions that the third years would leave, as well as gathering extra first year or even second year players, Karasuno could be a great team by next year. Shouyou and Kei were impressed with the faith that Hisashi had in the team's future. He didn't look sad about the dire situation the team faced or how its future solely depended on whatever it could reap from the current crop of students.

"See Kei, we have a good chance of making the team," Shouyou said to Kei as they found themselves alone for a bit while Hisashi relieved himself in the distance.

Kei frowned. "But now we're just making it onto the team out of pity," Kei quickly added.

"Does it matter?" Shouyou responded with anger starting to show in his voice, "as long as we're on the team I'm happy. There will be plenty of time to get better. Why do teams practice all the time?"

"No matter how much someone practices, a bad player will always be a bad player. There is no improvement possible for bad players. Bad players eventually realize that they are bad and that they will never be a good player. Some people are better at sports than others," Kei sighed deeply after saying this, then added, "It's like school work, no matter how much one studies someone who is naturally gifted with intelligence will do better. They won't need to study, they will naturally do better. While people who study hard will never catch up to them."

Shouyou face-palmed at Kei's response. "How could you say that, didn't you say you helped tutor lots of people. Didn't they get better grades on their next test?" Shouyou thought this was excellent proof to counter Kei's proclamation.

"That doesn't mean that they were able to retain knowledge for their next test. Most people showed up for one or two sessions then they never returned. Their grades fell back to the level it was before I helped them," Kei had a hint of disappointment in his voice as he said this. He averted his eyes from Shouyou as he added, "What other proof is needed to show you that studying will just never help? If studying was the key to success, then everyone would be at the top of the class."

Shouyou bit his lip to prevent himself from responding in a fit of anger. He didn't want to say something that he would later regret, something that would probably harm their relationship, or even destroy their friendship instantly. What would Akiteru think if he just shouted that that attitude was the reason why people probably didn't ever come back? If the person tutoring you thought it was meaningless, then you would of course think it is meaningless. People would rather get low grades than spend time being told that they would not be successful. Did Kei actually tell the people he helped that or did he act completely unmotivated when he helped them knowing they wouldn't be able to keep their grades up? Shouyou had first hand experiencing knowing what makes a good tutor and what makes a bad one. Sadly, he often ended up with bad ones more often than the good ones. They led him to being worst off than he was before.

Rather than offend Kei, he instead targeted the heart of the issue. "If we treat practice like schoolwork, then it is just the same. The ones who are more motivated will succeed. The people with more spirit will succeed. The people who love it will succeed. Kei these people will succeed!" Shouyou got louder and more animated.

Kei attempted to respond, but then Shouyou raised his hand, stopping him from saying anything.

"I'm not done Kei. You just need to make sure you are around those who are motivated and want to succeed. If you do this, then you're guaranteed a spot on the team," Shouyou had calmed down. But then sincerely said as if it was a promise of a lifetime, "I just know it, Kei. I do."

It made sense to Shouyou. In sports, practice could lead to being better than you were. Shouyou knew this since he had to practice too. The years of hard work he put in from elementary school to middle school would pay off in the future. From his limited time with some random games, he realized that he had areas to improve in but he had his strengths. He may be fast but he didn't even know how to block and still can't block that well, he thought. "Well I better not tell Kei that", he said to himself, chuckling a bit.

"But it's not the same," Kei said. "It just isn't."

"Listen. Kei we went over this before," Shouyou added and walked a bit closer to Kei. He looked up at Kei trying to establish eye contact. Kei looked down and met Shouyou's peering eyes. In them he could see a vibrant soul passionate about the sport he loved. Shouyou continued, "The last time you tried to prove me wrong in volleyball, I showed you that what you were saying is not how it works. I know volleyball. I know how it really is."

Kei was taken aback by how serious Shouyou was about this discussion. How could someone so bright, cheerful, and at times carefree, turn to be so forceful and convincing? Kei had no immediate words. Although he wanted to still protest the situation, he felt like he was forced to concede and admit that what Shouyou said was right. Kei couldn't counter Shouyou's point. He had no experience with volleyball or practicing that would enable him to sound convincing. He had no experience with how it was to not be an intelligent person. He never had to study to improve. He had to study to gain new knowledge, but he was never going from zero to hero. What Kei believed was based on logic and knowledge, but what Shouyou was saying was based on experience and reflection. The two forces were battling it out, dueling in epic fashion, leaving Kei to decide which to side with. He debated on trusting his instincts and going with Shouyou on this, or giving in to his brain and going with what was established to be truth based on what he read and saw.

Shouyou backed away as Kei took several moments to think of an acceptable response. He hoped he managed to get his point across to Kei. There are things that logic and books won't teach but experience will. In the world of sports, some things are better left explained by the spur of the moment, the situation at hand that constantly changes, and the spirit of the moment. When a players' incredible passion, their thirsty desires for success come on full display, games become very unpredictable. One side may appear to have the winning advantage, but when a team is fully united in mind and spirit powered by the shouts and screams of the onlookers craving their team to win, the balance of the game can swiftly tilt in the opposite direction. It has yet to be explained, Shouyou thought, for even losing teams to win the hearts of all spectators in a sports match and perform that infamous last synchronized attack pattern to take back many points even when things seem hopeless. Why don't they give up? Because they aren't limited by logic or rules of nature that people have studied. They are just controlled by their innate desire to win. Even the worst players can turn into most valuable players at this point in time. Shouyou deeply desired to show this world to Kei. Getting him involved, opening his mind, and expanding it to experience this side of life had driven Shouyou to continue to pursue this budding friendship with Kei.

"Shouyou," Kei said slowly. He chose his words carefully, "I wasn't doubting your ability but mine. You know I'm just a beginner. I just don't want to be on the team because I was handed a position on a silver platter. I want to earn it. That's just who I am. So please bear with me as I still take all this in." He hoped he didn't offend Shouyou. He had learned that the best way to fix situations was to apologize but frame it in a way that shows your own weakness and the other person's strength.

"Kei. You can take all the time you want, but you're not being handed a position on a silver platter," Shouyou tried to smile but it was hard to hide his disappointment in Kei's demeanor. Why does he doubt himself so much? "Just think of it as an invited spot on the team. You were invited to play and if you do well you can become a full member. If you think of it that way then you're doing like everyone else in other clubs. You're temporarily joining the volleyball club to actively observe during this trial period." Shouyou knew he was winging it but it was the best he could come up with. He just hoped it sounded convincing to Kei.

"But I'm not going to be evaluated at the end. I'm basically confirmed for the team," Kei said dryly while adjusting his glasses up in the process, "but if you say it like that, then it sounds like a challenge. It's like they are trying to fit me in on the team by assessing my chemistry with others." He could see what Shouyou was getting at and while Shouyou wasn't the most eloquent he decided to give Shouyou a chance.

Shouyou smiled, Kei was finally coming around, just a bit more. "Yes, and don't forget there could be other players trying to make the team. You also didn't say anything about becoming a regular. You could join the team and then only play during practice matches, which is no fun. Or you could join the team and do well enough to be a regular. If they made you a regular without you doing anything that the other students did, then maybe I would agree that you earned that spot unfairly. However, I'm sure that won't happen. Hisashi seems like a great guy and I can't imagine he is on a team that would do that." Shouyou said as he looked in Hisashi's direction. What was taking Hisashi so long?

"That's true. I completely forgot about the different contributions a player can make to a team. From being a regular to being a reserve or benched player, there are many roles for someone to support Karasuno Volleyball Club. I won't feel good if I make the team but then I don't even play. Surely, there is some way that I can manage to make the team to be a regular quickly. Though if you aren't going to be a regular then maybe I don't want to be either," Kei said trailing off at the last sentence.

Shouyou couldn't hear the end of what Kei was saying, but he seemed to be in agreement about actually wanting to be on the team. He seemed willing to try his hand at getting a regular spot. Shouyou couldn't be any happier and ran to Kei. He grasped his hand and pulled both their hands into the air, yelling excitedly in the process. He turned to Kei and smiled saying, "I'm glad Kei. It's so glad you're finally getting it. Once we get out of this place we've got to celebrate."

Kei was surprised at the yelling, but even more surprised at Shouyou saying something about celebrating. What are they even celebrating, he wanted to scream but he decided not to. Why ruin Shouyou's moment when he didn't have to. It was unnecessary, and he didn't want to make him feel bad. Kei began to imagine how fun it would be to be on a team with Shouyou once they got back. Could he take a photo of both of them dressed up in Karasuno volleyball club outfits? A photo of Shouyou blocking would be a must have too. Maybe one or both of us blocking, he added. All photos would be perfect he concluded.

Hisashi returned just in time to see Shouyou chatting away to Kei excitedly. He started chuckling to himself as he saw Shouyou and Kei still holding hands. "Aye, I hate to ruin the moment but are we ready to head on?" They looked at him in response as he said this and started walking his way. Shouyou let Kei's hand go and ran a few feet in front of Hisashi completely elated over the events with Kei.

"The sky is beginning to darken," Shouyou said as he pointed towards the horizon. They had walked for several hours and were beginning to draw closer to their destination. Like Hisashi said, someone was trying to alter their destination, keeping them from whatever was hidden over there.

"Wow we can even see the clouds moving towards us and thickening. This is too real!" Hisashi exclaimed in genuine awe.

"Now would be a good time to see if you can do any sort of buff spell to give us some increased resistance to the elements. I wonder if you have anti-water and anti-wind skills," Kei spoke as he looked to Hinata.

"This is fantastic," Hisashi said, still in slight disbelief.

Shouyou went to place his hands on both Hisashi and Kei's head and thought about what he was about to do. He began to see a pale image of a green blob form. It began to take the shape of an outline of a child. In it the arm of this shape reached out to Shouyou's head. The second it did that he instantly knew what he had to do. It was as if something in his head clicked, enabling him to start sending blue and green aura into both of them.

"Whoa! Your head is glowing, Shouyou," Hisashi said as he looked down to Shouyou's head. Shouyou's head was glowing a bright teal color.

"The arms though," Kei pointed out as he examined the aura illuminating Shouyou's arms. They too were glowing a very fluorescent blue color.

Not only was aura flowing into the two of them but also the ground. The area around them began to glow teal brightening to white as the distance from Shouyou increased. For several meters around them the ground glowed white providing them some light in this overcast area. The light was so bright that it might as well have been the noontime hour.

"Look at the ground Kei," Hisashi stated as he looked beyond Shouyou. "What is happening? Where is all this stuff coming from? Weren't these flowers supposed to be dead?"

Kei nodded but was left speechless. What has happening was beyond his understanding. There was nothing he encountered in the numerous books he read or the texts he studied to explain this. The flowers beneath them began to birth new life. Gone were the wilted dead flowers of the past but instead new buds sprouted, quickly growing at speeds unheard of. Flowers too bloomed with petals of myriad colors. The smell of fresh flowers began to fill the air soothing Shouyou, Kei, and Hisashi. They instantly relaxed.

"Wow, this is real, man, this is real. Can you believe it!?" Hisashi said as he noticed the scene around them. Kei tried to respond but couldn't. As he kept having to hear Hisashi's excitement, Kei's level of understanding decreased precipitously. All he could think of was that this wasn't something you saw every day. No scratch that, this wasn't something you ever saw. How is Shouyou generating something out of nothing? Meanwhile, Shouyou continued to send aura.

The perimeter around them continued to glow a very bright white. Before Kei and Hisashi could look at it, now it was so intense that they had to shield their eyes. Underneath them the flowers had started to give way to more types of fauna; new ferns, tree saplings, vegetables, and fruits all started to spring up. Exotic plants from kiwifruit, to pumpkins, to Sequoia saplings. Insects like ants, crickets, and caterpillars, too, soon appeared digging their way from out the ground ready to partake of the new bountiful harvest of foods aplenty. There was nothing that could explain how this was all happening. From just a few hours the ground went from being covered by dead flowers to now new fruits and vegetables that sprouted or grew to full height. Most baffling to them was that as time went on rabbits, field mice, and other small mammals appeared. The perimeter had expanded to accommodate these new creatures.

After a few hours Shouyou awakened. He was shocked to see that they were now in an abundant forest of oaks, maples, and evergreens. Ferns were present as well as fresh leaves from the trees above. The sounds of birds chirping, insects buzzing, and animals rustling through the foliage scared him.

"It's alright, Shouyou," Kei said as he gripped Shouyou's hand to calm him down. Shouyou had sat up, heartbeat racing in fear of the new scenery.

"Where are we? When did we walk into a forest?" Shouyou asked after a few moments. His heart beat had slowed.

"We're in the same place where we stopped a few hours ago," Kei responded. "You passed out after using numerous buffs on us. You seemed to have gone a bit overboard though." Kei turned to look all around them. Shouyou's eyes followed him as he took in the scene.

"It's like were in one of those forests in the Pacific Northwest," Hisashi added. "I went there on vacation last year."

"It's so beautiful," Shouyou said as he took it all in. He had forgotten how even something as simple as birds chirping as they chased each other sounded. He noticed the moist ground underneath his hand resting on the ground. He had never missed something like leaves, sticks, and even an earthworm on his hand, than he did now. It felt better than a dead flower. As he looked farther on he even noticed a deer looking him straight in the eye. No more were birds the only large animals present. He wanted to run up and hug this deer. He felt really warm when he saw a fawn appear by the deer's side. The deer angled a branch down so that the fawn could eat a berry growing on a bush.

Kei noticed Shouyou watching the beautiful scene of nature unfold. He struggled to put into words how Shouyou smiled beautifully at such a sight. It was like someone looking at a baby just born mere moments ago; the look of the parents staring at their baby smiling in pure bliss. The look Shouyou had was one he wanted to remember, and one he felt he wanted to be directed to him. He stared at Shouyou for quite some time.

Hisashi interrupted the scene by clearing his throat. Kei turned his head quickly away from Shouyou's direction, hoping he hadn't noticed him lost in thought while staring at Shouyou. Shouyou was still taking the scenery in. Hisashi laughed again which confused both of them. "Let's go," Hisashi said moving his hands and arms in motions indicating to get up and go. He even clapped his hands." Would he be leading their practice as their senior?" They thought to themselves.

"The forest does like you say, Kei," Hisashi stated as they walked on. "It doesn't appear to have any end in sight."

"I thought as much, it seems Shouyou has immense power over healing and life. I think it's really only limited by how much energy he has, ending once he passes out." Kei answered while looking at Shouyou. Shouyou nodded, understanding what Kei was saying. For both times he used his powers he noticed that it required not only great concentration but also great energy. "It will be important for him to be able to stop it. I can't imagine what may happen if we run into the Malicious God of Dark Materials and he tries to heal and passes out on us."

Hisashi tried to hold his chuckle in but couldn't. Before Kei could blush in response, he was interrupted by Shouyou.

"I wouldn't do that!" Shouyou shouted, running up to Kei, grabbing his arm while looking him in the eyes. Kei groaned as he could only imagine Hisashi laughing even more while watching him.

"Well that is why you can use this time to practice and see if you can stop it at will. I'm very confident that you will find a way to do that! After all you're Shouyou Hinata, and you did all this. You taught me how to block too. If you put your mind to it, then anything is possible," Kei tensed up again, something he hadn't done since coming to this world. It seemed that some things never changed and this was one of them. How could he slip up now?

Shouyou took hold of Kei's hand, gripped it, smiled, and let go as he whistled. He then fell to the back of the group after deciding to practice controlling his abilities. Kei was glad to have Shouyou's support and relaxed once Shouyou had taken his hand. Shouyou's touch is very soothing Kei thought.

"So how you would you describe you and Shouyou," Hisashi said quietly as he walked closer to Kei. Shouyou was busy focusing on his abilities that he couldn't hear what was being said.

Kei tripped on a tree's root in the underbrush. As he tried to compose himself he responded by saying, "What, what is that for?"

"Come on you know what I mean." Hisashi jabbed Kei in the side while saying this. He had a smirk that Kei wanted to wipe away but he couldn't.

"We're just friends," Kei said, it was the truth.

"You're lying, man," Hisashi said not believing what Kei said for one minute. "The way you took look at each other and the way you grab each other's hands. There is something deeper than friendship there."

Kei's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He coughed and struggled to come up with something to say.

Hisashi chuckled as he saw how flustered Kei was. This was going to be a fun journey he thought.

Kei took a few steps away from Hisashi, who thought he wasn't ever going to respond. Though he kind of nodded affirmatively. The whole week had been a flurry of activity with Shouyou occupying his mind all the time. He didn't know how to describe what was going on between them but he knew that whenever he thought of Shouyou he felt a longing to be near him. Whenever he was with Shouyou it felt like the time of his life. There was never a dull moment, never a time he felt like he didn't belong, and never a situation in which he wanted to make an excuse to do something else. For him, Shouyou began to show him what it meant to truly live. It was perhaps an exciting world full of new opportunities and possibilities. He wanted to remain with Shouyou to explore all of them.

"Anyway, we need to decide what we will do next. Shouyou may have filled this world with life, but there is still the issue of the sky and those crows," Hisashi pointed upwards. The sky was skill overcast with dark clouds hither and thither. They had been increasing in prevalence as they continued on their way. Kei noticed the crows much earlier, occasionally visible from the gaps in the canopy.

"Currently, Shouyou is the only one with power. We have power but we don't know what it is. I hate for us to go in empty handed but I think we might just have to take that risk." Kei believed that that is the only chance they had. While Shouyou was passed out, Kei and Hisashi had spent a few hours trying to activate their powers. Needless to say, they were not fruitful in their attempts.

"Same," Hisashi agreed.

"We can cross that bridge when we get there, but first we'll need to find a way to confront the Dark Mastermind," Kei said. "If he has that ability to transfer people from different dimensions then we need to force him to take us back to Karasuno."

"I'll beat the kid to a pulp and force him to take us back," Hisashi punched his fists like he meant business. The sound of the impact got both Kei's and Shouyou's attention. The trees even vibrated in response to this motion.

"Er what?!" Kei asked peering intently at Hisashi, "Is that your ability?"

"Oh cool, it sounds like you got super strength. You must be a vanguard unit," Shouyou stated as he appeared by Kei's side. "They are the melee fighters that really deal big damage to foes while the mages support from afar."

"Well said Shouyou! I think this addresses one of our concerns. We now have a way to offensively take on the Evil One." Kei responded happily. "Things are nicely falling into place. We really have a shot at doing this."

"Fight on," Hisashi added as he punched the ground. This time the whole ground rumbled and vibrated in response. Bushes rustled, animals hurriedly scurried away, and trees swayed as if awakened by the powerful force from the ground. Hisashi smiled at his strength. "If only I had this strength while in Karasuno, I'd be an awesome spiker and server."

"Well, you never know. If that guy was able to use those powers in the real, then it seems certainly possible that we could take ours back there. Though that would be dangerous." Kei said. Thoughts of Hisashi hitting someone by accident or slamming a door angrily causing the person to be thrown back fifty feet or a car door completely crushed by his strength went through his mind.

"Now we just have to find your power, Kei," Shouyou stated while he watched Hisashi continue to hit the ground excitedly.

"What if I don't have one," Kei added.

"Is that even possible? I would think this is one of those worlds where everyone would have a power," Shouyou said.

"As usual, you're the optimist of our operation," Kei looked at Shouyou in glee.

"It is possible. Unless you're a Villager B in an RPG, then you should have a power. Since you're not a Villager B then you're most likely going to have a power," Shouyou said happily.

"Villager B, what about Villager A? Does he have power?" Kei said cheekily.

"Villager A, I'm Villager A, you know how villager A is the one who is the chosen one?" Shouyou got closer to Kei excitedly. "Well that's me!"

"Am I your Villager B, then?" Kei asked seriously.

"Wow, Kei. That's what I'm talking about," Hisashi said surprisingly close to Kei.

Kei stomped away in the opposite direction in response.

"What's wrong with him," Shouyou asked as he saw Kei leave with his hands covering his face.

"Nothing Shouyou, nothing at all," Hisashi said as his eyes darted back and forth between the two.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey a new chapter. Thanks for the comments, follows, and more. I'm glad people are intrigued by it. Was busy finishing end of semester stuff so I didn't have much time to look over this and fix it up. I still think it was a nice good try for my first time writing some fanfic for that nanowrimo last year. Currently planning another TsukiHina for this years.

Chapter 7

A light mist started to fall on the three boys as they continued their journey through the forest. The sounds of wildlife increased as they journeyed on while the drip dropping of water droplets on the undergrowth and trees began to fill the air. The sound of the occasional cries from birds, animals moving about, and leaves rustling began to stimulate their senses. The situation made them imagine what it felt like to go hiking in the hills of their town. Unfortunately, while taking in the scenery and wishing for the peaceful carefree days of recreational activities, the evil one and his nefarious deeds stayed in the back of their minds. They weren't on edge however as their powers gave them hopes that they could defeat him and return home again.

"So I was thinking," Shouyou wondered aloud, "what do you think happened after the ground at Karasuno collapsed. Do you think people are panicking right now? Was a rescue squad dispatched?"

"I think it could be treated like any other sinkhole news story. Panic and surprise followed by questions on if the foundation was built on solid ground," Kei answered.

"That's unexciting," Shouyou responded dryly to Kei's logical answer.

"What would you expect, someone to mention demonic powers of the witchcraft variety were let loose at a public high school? That would be silly talk," Kei said bluntly as he stopped and looked at Shouyou in utter amazement.

"Yes, it's the truth isn't it.

"Who is going to believe that? Hisashi didn't believe us when we said we could use magic. If he didn't believe us even after being transferred to this world, then who in the real would believe us?" Kei questioned how Shouyou was confused.

"Lying isn't right. If people knew the truth then maybe they could help us," Shoyou retorted. "If no one helps us then how could we even return home?"

"Look, now isn't the time to believe in honestly is the best policy and all of that honorable business. People would be in shock that magic may be real. No one would listen. We don't even know if anyone knows we went missing at school," Kei stated. "Anyway, I wasn't planning on us killing the Dark One," Kei answered. "If he died then I don't know if we would be able to leave. We just need to convince him to send us back."

"I don't think he will respond to us casually asking him to send us back," Hisashi added after turning back to the two.

'' I kind of laugh at the thought of us going and begging on our hands and knees to send us home. An evil dark lord wouldn't work like that," Kei stated upon hearing Hisashi's comment. "Anyway the decision will probably depend on Hisashi. He is the only one of us with the ability to hit the Dark One."

"Don't kill him, Hisashi. Please," Shouyou stated.

"What makes you think I would kill him?" Hisashi responded to Shouyou's plea swiftly.

"Well you look like the type of guy that would beat someone up," Shouyou said as he looked upwards to Hisashi.

"Boy, I ought to!" Hisashi exclaimed in response. Shouyou ran to hide behind Kei upon hearing how angry Hisashi sounded. Kei chuckled at the scene. Who knew Shouyou had a fright of bullies. Actually who would even bully someone so bright and sunny, Kei thought.

"But seriously, I'm not like that Shouyou, I promise," Hisashi said calmly. Shouyou moved from behind Kei, and smiled weakly. "There are others on the team though who look like that. Hopefully you'll be able to meet them."

"That will be nice," Shouyou looked on happily as he stated this. The thoughts of joining the team was still fresh on his mind as they merrily continued on their way.

A few more hours passed and they found themselves slightly closer to their destination. The dark clouds grew in intensity as they continued onwards. The mist continued to grow thicker giving them the impression that they were at the front door of the secret they were ready to uncover. From their uneasy stepping one could imagine that they were all thinking of the same thing, just what was the Dark One hiding?

"I think we should camp here for today," Kei said after taking a moment to sip some water from the small stream they stopped at.

"Really, I can go further," Shouyou said doing a few jumping jacks to show he still had energy.

"Shouyou, Kei's right," Hisashi added after wiping some water dripping from his mouth. "I've been exhausted for at least an hour now."

"We've had to have been here for several hours now," Kei added. "I know it's hard or even impossible to tell time here but it has. If we weren't under perpetual overcast skies and mist from the combination of the powerful revitalization spell and the Dark One's influence, then it would clearly be close to midnight."

"That much time has passed?!" Shouyou exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, considering that we got here, we walked a few miles, so that was a few hours. We ran in the thunderstorm quite a bit. We found Hisashi then you fell asleep for a few hours while Hisashi and I explored the new forest, and then we've walked a few more miles. Honestly, it is way more walking than I'm used to." Kei added as he bent over and rubbed his legs visibly to further emphasize the point.

"Then how are we going to camp?" Shouyou said as he looked around. "We don't exactly have camping bags and tents."

"We can make do with what we have. Natives didn't have large supercenters to buy synthetic tents and camping bags in. They used nature's gifts to camp with," Kei said smartly.

"And how does that work?" Hisashi inquired while looking up at them after dousing himself in some of the stream water. He whipped his head from side to side letting water fall all around him. Shouyou ducked as some water hit him.

"Easy, we have tons of sticks around us, we also have giant Sequoia trees present. There are even some animals with tons of fur. If you don't mind getting down and dirty then we should be able to make it happen," Kei stated as he adjusted his glasses as he looked at Hisashi. Hisashi shivered as he had the thought that he would be the one doing the most work for this set-up.

"First, Hisashi, you can find a giant Sequoia to hit a large hole through. This should give us a great place to rest. You may have seen those scenes of the giant tress in the Middle Pacific that people drive cars through or that work as tunnels for some roads. If you can do the same here, then I think we will be set for a place to stay." Kei said this and looked to Shouyou.

Shouyou understood what Kei was implying and set out to find an ideal tree. Shouyou was again surprised by the great variety in trees present. Though he knew the oak, maple, and magnolia trees there were many he had seen but not known the name of. The tall evergreen trees with their numerous pine needles pleased him greatly. The target that he was looking for, was one of the most plentiful trees in this forest. He had an easy time spotting the perfect one, it was easily the width of multiple houses. Once he located this huge tree, he rushed over to Hisashi and brought him to it. Kei looked on from a distance as he attempted to try to figure out how Hisashi's ability worked.

Hisashi punched the tree as Kei stared intently. "Ywoch," he heard Hisashi scream out upon impact. Shouyou and Kei immediately ran to Hisashi. Blood was dripping from Hisashi's hand dotting the ground around them.

"Wow, what happened? Why didn't it work," Shouyou asked as he pressed a hand on Hisashi sending teal aura into his hand. The blood from the impact and the splinters from the wood deep in Hisashi's hand instantly vanished as the fibers in his skin quickly healed.

Kei looked at Shouyou, impressed at his fast act.

"I don't know. I don't know. It worked before," Hisashi said sadly. He looked very disappointed in his injury and brief moment of being unable to get the job done.

"What did you do differently this time?" Shouyou responded as he stopped sending aura to Hisashi.

Kei took note of Shouyou's control over his ability. Just a few hours earlier they had commented that he needed to control his healing power. Now, here he was able to stop himself from going unconscious by overusing his ability.

"Ah I know. Why not have Shouyou buff your hand, and then you repeat it," Kei added, "remember that we had just received our buffs when you launched into punching the ground and the air. Do that and maybe it should work?"

Shouyou again used his buffing ability to send aura into Hisashi's outstretched hand. This time, in order to buff him, he focused on directly applying it to his punching arm. He was curious if the location that the buff is applied mattered. If he applied it to the head would it be a global effect? Could a local effect happen when he applied it to some body part like the hand or foot?

Hisashi screamed in excitement after the teal glowing vanished from his hand. He punched his palm generating the same vibration waves from before. The sound of it caused animals to shriek out again. Taking this as a positive sign, he went up to the tree. He breathed out, then breathed in. He planted his feet on the ground to get a good hold. After a count from five to zero, he pulled his right arm back as much as possible. Then, he pushed it forward, planting a fist directly in the center of the base of the tree. It sounded like a tree was groaning as animals screamed out from the impact. Wood splinters and shards flew out from the impact. Branches, leaves, and even small animals rained down around them. Amidst their dodging Kei noticed the marvelous miracle that took place.

"There we go," Kei said excitedly while hurrying over to the two other boys. "What did we learn from this event?

"First, it seems that for some of the powers it isn't just a wish that grants them. For example, it wasn't because I wished that I could punch a hole in the tree that it happened. This time, I thought long and hard concentrating on the goal for why I needed to punch the tree. So since it worked this time, I think it seems the powers have some sort of important purpose to them. My miraculous strength ability seems to be useful for practical things," Hisashi said.

"Yes that may be the case. Shouyou likes to help people so he got a really helpful ability. He didn't appear to wish to be a healer, so I think your theory works. Shouyou loves to support people so having the buff ability also makes sense," Kei started looking from Hisashi to Shouyou. "It appeared that the buffing ability strengthened your hand so that you wouldn't get injured from any recoil.

Hisashi nodded his head affirmatively.

"In any case, it appears that Hisashi just needs to be buffed to use his powers safely. When he wasn't buffed it appeared that he couldn't even dent the tree. When he was buffed, the middle section of the tree was knocked away like it was nothing," Kei smiled. "That will be fun for someone to chop and make into firewood."

"Now we need to do something about covering the opening and closing, or else it will feel quite chilly," Kei added. "I have an idea for what we need to do about it, but I don't know if we would want to be brutes about it, or if we can use Shouyou's ability to generate them. In any case, our experience in middle school Home Economics will aid us in sewing the animal pelts."

"What type of animal would make coverings that big," Shouyou and Hisashi said in unison.

"Bear's should. If we do this right, then we should have a fast way of acquiring the fur we need to cover our makeshift shelter," Hisashi added.

"A bear, we would really slay a fluffy bear?" Shouyou said with a touch of displeasure in his voice.

Kei looked towards Hisashi for a response.

"You've never gone hunting?" Hisashi asked both of them.

Both boys shook their heads no.

"Is there some other way for us to make a covering?" Shouyou asked.

"There is but it might take a bit more time than using animal fur," Kei responded.

"Then let's do that then, tell me what to do," Shouyou said as he moved closer to Kei looking onwards for guidance. Kei glanced down and started to speak.

"So were not hunting," Hisashi said just as Kei was about to say something.

"No, I think we can use the abundance of plants around to get our covering. No point doing something that Shouyou and I haven't experienced. It would be unfair for you to do all the work," Kei responded. Shouyou appeared to be happy at this change of events.

Hisashi kicked the ground in disappointment, sighed, and looked at Kei for guidance.

"Maybe we can go hunting next time Hisashi," Shouyou said. "Hunting bears sounds tough and kind of mean to them."

Hisashi briefly entertained the thought of the volleyball club going camping. It could be a new bonding experience for them all, though considering the rigorous training schedule for the team, he didn't know when they would have time to do it. He put it in the back of his mind for later. Maybe the captain would be up to it.

Kei looked at both boys and started making motions to explain their plan of attack. "We will use the byproducts of the forest's growth to create the covering for our little tree shelter. So we need to collect some sticks to make the doors of the shelter. The door will be done in a grid so that we have several squares which we can then overlay with leaves, ferns, and other greenery. I think if we do enough layers we will have a way to keep out this misty chill in the air and give us a comfortable and warm place to regain our energy."

Shouyou nodded without any questions and began to gather sticks. At the same time Hisashi started going and gathering any ferns that he saw. Kei oversaw the laying of the sticks providing further direction to Shouyou whenever he gathered a stick too small or placed it in the wrong spot. After an hour had passed, they had themselves two doors for their tree shelter they punched out of the giant tree. After erecting it on one end of their tree, they propped a fallen tree against it so it wouldn't fall down. For additionally support, Hinata gathered some mud and smattered it around the edges of the door frame blocking any and all wind that could come through to make it drafty.

"This is really nice," Shouyou said as he washed his hands in the local stream.

"I know," Kei said as he splashed his feet around the stream water as they sat around it. The day had been long and he hadn't sat down much. After spending time walking, running, and building he felt he deserved the chance to sit down and relax.

Hisashi emerged from the stream a little bit later. Kei and Shouyou blushed at the site of their naked senior who was surprisingly well built. Shouyou wished he could someday be as tall and as built as Hisashi, he hoped somewhat that maybe volleyball will help him achieve that goal.

"This is some pretty warm water guys, you should get in too," Hisashi stated as he saw both of his juniors blushing at him. "What's the matter?" he said after a few moments of silence.

"Sure I'll come in too!" Shouyou said excitedly as he threw off his clothes and ran right in. "Whoa you're right it's warmer in here than it is sitting out there," he said as he emerged from the water.

Kei sat on the short and could only focus on Shouyou's bare stomach. Well what parts of it were above water, he chuckled to himself. While Hisashi was standing Shouyou seemed to be trying to stay afloat. Kei reasoned that he seemed like he was in a mix of either standing on the tips of his toes or either just trying to swim. The water seemed to be barely above Shouyou's height. After a bit he continued to look at Shouyou and noted how he kind of wanted to touch that stomach and chest of his. Something about Shouyou made him look all adorable. The nice smooth skin color, the developing muscles on his chest perfectly accentuating this small figure, the collarbone attractively complementing his small neck and his slightly broad shoulders, Kei noticed it all. Water glistening with the sunlight only enhanced the feelings he was experiencing, then the water dripping from his bright hair, wow. If he was an artist he would to paint the scene of Shouyou wading in this stream.

Kei's daydream was interrupted by a huge splash of water from Hisashi. Kei nearly tumbled backwards at the surprising sight. How did Hisashi get so close?

"What are you thinking about Kei," Hisashi said as he was resting on his arms stomach down while half on shore and half in water. Kei looked another way as he wiped the water from his glasses. Fortunately, he thought, he couldn't clearly see Hisashi so he hoped his face wouldn't give away how uncomfortable he was. It was his first time in an aquatic situation with others. Kei clearly didn't answer.

"Let me guess!" Hisashi said snickering to himself, "you were thinking of Shouyou again." He moved his legs excitedly sending water flying in all ways.

Kei dropped his glasses once Hisashi finished asking the question.

"I knew it!" Hisashi said gladly. "I saw how your eyes were checking him out earlier. But now, you can't even look at Shouyou right now, how will you even handle being in the same locker room as him. You know we change clothes and shower there all the time."

Kei hadn't even thought of that but he wouldn't let him deter him from making the team. He promised Shouyou he reminded himself. "I know," Kei said in as monotone voice as possible. He hoped he wasn't showing his feelings to Hisashi.

"You're so lucky Shouyou doesn't know," Hisashi said as he turned around and looked at Shouyou, attempting to play with some ducks frantically swimming away from him.

"There is nothing for Shouyou to know," Kei responded, a bit faster than he would have liked.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Hisashi added as he looked at Kei. "Sooner or later,"

"Nothing will happen" Kei said as he cut Hisashi off. He knew where Hisashi was going with this and he would rather not sit and think of those things right now. It was too soon; it was only a week since Shouyou came into his life. How could he tell Shouyou anything about how he feels? He couldn't he told himself.

Hisashi shook his head, got back in the water and played around with Shouyou some. Kei returned to their shelter and started to make a fire.


End file.
